After persuading the other side to mediate and selecting a mediator, we put our mediation together in two weeks.

We appeared in the executive conference room across the table from the organization’s attorney, the new president, and the vice president. I had grave concerns about the vice president’s presence.

I explained the facts and argued the law. My client explained the effects of the vice president’s repeated overtures towards her.

After we finished, the organization declined to comment, but asked for the opportunity to talk privately with the mediator. We moved to a smaller conference room and waited.

We waited for a long time.

It was worth the wait!

After what seemed like forever, the mediator came into our room.

He asked how we were doing. I told him we were very concerned that this appeared to be a complete failure. He smiled and invited us to look out the window.

In the parking lot, the vice president was carrying his plaques and pictures to his car. The president had fired him on the spot.

The mediator told us that the president, and the organization, were eager to make things right.

We had not made a demand, but we came up with one now.

We asked that my client be reinstated. We asked that the organization pay the costs of her therapy. We asked that the organization give her time off to take advanced coursework and reimburse her tuition. We asked that the organization reimburse her for her attorneys’ fees and pay the cost of the mediation.

The mediator took our demand to the organization’s caucus. Soon, he returned. He told us that the organization would be pleased to meet our demand.

My client and I stayed in touch.

She continued her work there for seven years. She was promoted twice, and when she left, she was sad to leave, and the organization was sad to lose her.

Mediation could achieve results that even a total victory in court could not produce.