DISPUTE SMART .

Early in Howard Kline’s career of 47 years as an attorney advocating for his clients, he considered mediation to be a waste of time and his client’s money. Whenever a judge ordered the parties to attend mediation, it would be typical to go to the court cafeteria with a volunteer attorney acting as a mediator, spend about an hour with each attorney arguing their clients’ position and trying to convince the mediator of the righteousness of their client’s case. They would then walk back to the court and proceed to trial. Rarely did mediation work in those situations. However, mediator training back then was not as sophisticated and pervasive as it is now.

Over the years, the mediation process and Howard’s preparation as an attorney dealing with mediation changed. There became an emphasis on mediator training with more non-lawyer mediators. Today, mediators rely heavily on their psychological skills seeking to understand each party’s mind, emotions and behavior in order to better help them reach a mutually beneficial resolution of their dispute. The skills necessary to be a good mediator do not, necessarily require good lawyering skills. With that being said, a lawyer’s training allowing them to see and understand both sides of a disagreement is a fundamental tool of a mediator.

“Later in my legal career, my cases that went into mediation began to settle at a higher rate, which was a significant benefit to my clients. I developed an open attitude towards mediation. In many of my cases, I found myself looking to mediate early, and I recognized that early settlement is often less aggravating, distracting and less expensive to my clients,” says Howard.

As a mediator, Howard focuses far less on who is right or who is wrong. While the facts are important to a successful result, the predominant focus is on each party’s “true” and underlying motivations. The goal is to get both parties to have an open dialogue, minimize the emotions of the situation, and to then seek solutions to the dispute that they may not have previously considered. Howard adds, “I am and must remain impartial. Any settlement that is reached is owned by the parties. I only control the process.”

Howard Kline is currently a mediator and arbitrator. He has been a California licensed attorney since 1976. He has served as general counsel for two international technology companies, a regional supermarket chain, a shopping center owner and developer, as well as a national education corporation. He has significant experience in commercial real estate, commercial landlord tenant disputes, and contract, employment, labor, technology, construction and consumer matters.

Howard is also the founder and host of a number of podcasts, including CRE Radio & TV, Uncommon Sense and the Las Vegas Business Journal. His publications can be found at: