Arizona Attorney - February 2015

hirty years ago, then-Chief Justice of the United States Warren Burger stated, “Our legal system has become too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized people.” 1 In making this comment, Chief Justice Burger was leading the charge for alternative forms of dispute resolution, including mediation, to “produce acceptable results in the shortest possible time, with the least possible expense and with minimum stress on the participants.” 2

Today more than ever litigants need to
make choices about the allocation of scarce
resources, because today’s legal environ-
ment is radically and fundamentally differ-
ent than it was 30 years ago. The role of
mediation has become a firm part of the
practice of law, and its implementation
offers skills for peacemaking and healing.
In law school, we were professionally
trained in developing skills of advocacy.
We were taught that in litigation there is
usually a winner and a loser. We were not
taught that when a dispute arises among
parties, there are multiple levels of peace-
making that may occur. This article dis-
cusses mediation as a tool of peacemaking
and ultimately a tool of advocacy that
supports President Abraham Lincoln’s
admonition to:
Discourage litigation. Persuade your
neighbors to compromise whenever
you can. Point out to them how the
nominal winner is often the real
loser—in fees, expenses, and waste
of time. As a peace-maker the lawyer
has a superior opportunity of being a
good man. There will still be business
enough. 3

The Advantagies of
Mediation vs. Trial

Proponents of mediation point to privacy, control, convenience, economy, timeliness, self-determination and mutual respect as the primary advantages of mediation versus contested litigation. In a private setting away from the glare of publicity or a public hearing, disputing parties’ discussions— which can often be personally embarrass-

LESSONS LEARNED Mediation as a Healing Art

Retired Judge PENNY L. WILLRICH and JALAE ULICKI are tenured professors at Arizona Summit Law School in downtown Phoenix. Each has more than 30 years of experience as a mediator. Together, they co-teach a course in mediation at the law school. Judge Willrich can be reached at PWillrich@AZSummitLaw.edu and Ms. Ulicki can be reached at JUlicki@AZSummitLaw.edu.