Cases filed in Florida are referred to mediation by the courts. Most jurisdictions in most other states now require that legal disputes be mediated at some stage of the legal process. This means that the parties must attend a mediation conference in good faith but are not required or mandated to settle their dispute.
Mediation is also appropriate pre-suit in many instances to determine whether the dispute can be resolved prior to the case being filed in court. We look forward to settling your case!
At Clark & Zedella we work as a team and in most instances, you get the benefit of two (not one) mediators. In our roles as co-mediators we provide two perspectives, with valuable feedback and input to settle your case. Dwayne Clark and Kristen Zedella are of different ages, experience and genders and we have found this highly valuable in analyzing issues and creatively resolving disputes. Two heads are better than one and our team approach has been proven over the years, in complex litigation.
You are in control of the outcome and choose the resolution. The decision is not left in the hands of a judge or jury who may or may not find in your favor. At mediation, the parties, with feedback from Clark & Zedella, design a settlement agreement that works for them based upon the unique facts of the dispute. Lawsuits, verdicts and court judgments can be very unpredictable.
Money is saved, on both sides, by resolving a dispute through mediation. If you reach a settlement in your case, saving the costs of litigation, you could net more in your pocket, avoiding higher attorney’s fees and expense of litigation. Yes, the parties jointly pay the mediator(s) but it is much less than the cost of litigation. With two mediators, at Clark & Zedella, we structure the mediation fee in a way that is reasonable and affordable for the parties. Our fee for two mediators is competitive with most single mediators.
Mediation is voluntary. If ordered by the court the parties must attend in good faith, with authority to settle, but a resolution is not mandatory. If the parties cannot agree, they can adjourn or impasse. However, a judgment or jury verdict is final, subject to appeal. Some parties voluntarily submit to mediation, with Clark & Zedella, long before a formal lawsuit is filed avoiding time, expense and stress.
Mediation is private and informal. Legal proceedings are not. Everything discussed at mediation stays at mediation but both sides can air their differences and discuss how they view the case without being constrained by the Rules of Evidence and Procedure and exposed to the public eye. Mediation is not adversarial like court and the parties can explore resolution in a comfortable setting.
As a neutral third party, the mediator(s), at Clark & Zedella, will listen to both sides of the dispute. This is valuable because it provides feedback on the parties’ positions. Many times, a mediator can bring issues to light or raise questions that the party is not focused on. This may help the parties to gain knowledge and to understand their adversary or their own position better and help the party to prepare their case at a later stage, if mediation impasses.
All cases have strong points and weak ones. No case is perfect. In a meaningful and transparent mediation fresh perspective is gained on the strengths and weaknesses of a case. As neutrals Clark & Zedella have litigated hundreds of cases as attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants. We know what it is like to litigate on both sides of the fence. Mediators don’t decide cases but, they can lend perspective with exploration and discussion of the issues.
Another mediation benefit is that of risk assessment. Prior to mediation, the parties may have some sense of how each side is valuing a case, but that sense is rarely based on hard evidence. As mediation unfolds, the parties exchange numbers and other factual information. They may share law that controls the case the other side had missed. Somewhere along the way, each side usually gets a better sense of how the other side values the case. That information is invaluable in assessing the risk of going to trial, especially in complex cases where trial expenses will be significant.
Most cases settle at mediation. If a mediation conference does not result in a resolution, the parties can agree to adjourn. In this instance we will continue follow-up by telephone with the parties at no cost, to work toward settlement. If necessary, we can reconvene at another time in a second round of mediation. Mediation is not always a one-step process, but valuable insight can be gained and lead to second round of mediation that ends the dispute. Especially in complex cases involving catastrophic injuries or death, it is not uncommon for the parties to reach impasse at mediation despite the best efforts of everyone involved. The parties usually have a very good idea of what it would take to get the case settled, but it just is not possible to bridge the remaining gap. In a failed mediation much can be gained from the process alone and the parties still have the right to go to court. Knowledge, information and perspectives can give context and understanding to disputes and can prevent the need for extended court battles.
The resolution happens right now. At mediation, if a resolution is reached, the legal proceedings stop or are never initiated. The parties don’t suffer months or years of costly legal proceedings which are subject to the court’s calendar, delays and rescheduling. When parties agree to try mediation, with Clark & Zedella, most disputes can be resolved within a matter of weeks. A typical mediation session lasts only three to four hours, but no time limits are typically imposed.
The concept of compromise works for everyone. In most cases both sides feel fairly treated and their viewpoint heard. There is never a perfect resolution but, through compromise and settlement, both parties feel there is give and take. A jury or judge will likely have to make a compromise, too, but the parties will not have input in the final decision. It can be all or nothing in court. Parties are generally more satisfied with mediation rather than going to court. Clark & Zedella will work hard to make sure both sides feel like they got a fair shake and reach a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Settlement helps most individuals move on with their lives. The stress, distraction, interruption and uncertainty of legal proceedings takes a toll on most individuals and companies. Some injured parties are traumatized. Settlement helps put the trauma behind them. At mediation, the resolution of the dispute helps most individuals find closure and the ability to return to daily life, with a known result. At Clark & Zedella we would like to be part of the solution and a catalyst to closure and healing for all parties involved in your case.
In our firm we are known by clients and adversaries to be highly prepared, professional, knowledgeable, fair, and objective. We can be aggressive when called for. We don’t come to mediation with “blinders on” or with a bias for or against defendant or plaintiff. We bring decades of experience from litigating very complex multi-party cases. We can be understanding and empathetic to both sides and we promise to be prepared and to work hard to achieve a fair and lasting settlement for all parties involved.
We have access to mediate at the Jax Mediation Center. https://jaxmediationcenter.com/ The Center is welcoming, comfortable, and designed specifically for mediation. There are rooms small, medium and large suitable for any size mediation. The Center is appointed with technology that allows for Zoom mediations and television screens for presentations. Clark & Zedella are also available to travel upon request when it meets the schedules of all concerned.
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to