The Art of Commercial Mediation (Online Seminar)

A pre-recorded streaming video replay from the May 2018 webcast, The Art of Commercial Mediation.

Consistently achieving successful results through commercial mediation does not just happen but requires certain skills, tactics, and knowledge. Providing you with those tools and insights is what this program is all about.

Commercial clients want to resolve disputes in a cost-effective manner and avoid wasting precious time, money, and resources trying cases. This course will provide advocates with the knowledge, skills, and tactics needed to help achieve that objective. When it comes to mediation, one size definitely DOES NOT fit all.

In this course you will learn about the different mediation styles, and how to select a mediator that is right for your particular case and client. The panelists will provide, from both a mediator’s and advocate’s perspective, a plethora of tips, tactics, and insights useful in preparing for, participating in, and successfully concluding a mediation with a binding agreement. You will also learn about the statutory framework and ethical considerations that not only govern mediators, attorneys, and parties, but can also impact the validity of any mediated agreement. Our speakers will review relevant sections of both the Standard of Ethics, Professional Responsibility for Certified Mediators and Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.10, and 2.11, and discuss Va. Code sections 8.01-576, 8.01-576.12, 63.2-1509, as well as relevant LEOs.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Donita M. King, Donita King Law Offices, PLC / Richmond

Donita King is the founder of Donita King Law Offices, PLC.  She is an attorney, certified mediator, mediator mentor, and Virginia Supreme Court–authorized Alternative Dispute Resolution trainer. She trains and mentors prospective mediators in complex civil mediation, the judicial system, cultural impact on negotiation, interest-based negotiation, and mediation ethics, and lectures on any number of Alternative Dispute Resolution topics.  Ms. King has mediated over 8,000 family law and civil cases, including complex litigation, and frequently serves as an arbitrator. In her capacity as arbitrator or mediator, Ms. King is often called upon as an ADR professional in FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) mediation and arbitration cases.  Ms. King serves on The Virginia Bar Association and Virginia State Bar’s Joint ADR Council and was 2015 Council Chair.

Previously, Ms. King spent 24 years as an in-house corporate attorney of fortune 100 insurance and financial services companies, leaving the industry in 2002. She is a former managing attorney of The Prudential, and her last corporate position was General Counsel responsible for the Legal and Compliance Departments of one of the Genworth companies (Richmond Operations). Her responsibilities included litigating and managing major litigation, regulatory, employment and labor, commercial and a variety of other legal matters. For more visit: http://donitakinglaw.com/

William H. Shewmake, LeClair Ryan / Richmond

William Shewmake received his undergraduate degree from William and Mary in 1982 and his law degree from William and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1985.  He is a senior counsel at LeClair Ryan in Richmond, Virginia, and enjoys a broad civil practice, including commercial and appellate litigation.  Mr. Shewmake is a trained mediator and has participated in numerous mediations as the mediator and as an advocate in a variety of contexts, from commercial disputes to medical malpractice and personal injury cases.  He likewise has served as an arbitrator in commercial disputes as well as an advocate in arbitration proceedings.  Mr. Shewmake was the 2016 Chairman of the Virginia Bar Association and Virginia State Bar’s Joint ADR Council, and was identified by Virginia Business as Virginia’s 2016 Legal Elite in Alternative Dispute Resolution.