The Keys to the Mediation Success of Chief Magistrate Judge John E. Ott
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Pages | 0132 |
Imagine a 98 percent success record on a mediator's 100+ mediations in his first two years on the job.1
This impressive record belonged to Judge John E. Ott, who, at the time, was also attending to significant other tasks after being appointed in 1998 as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.2 Back in 1998, the mediation process was a relatively new procedure designed to enable parties to obtain a mutually satisfactory, risk-free, quicker, and less expensive resolution of legal disputes. Mediations also reduced the number of jury trials.3
Judge Ott had previously served 15 years as a prosecutor and later as chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office in the Northern District. Upon becoming a magistrate judge, he wanted to gain experience in civil litigation. So Judge Ott asked U.S. District Court judges to assign their civil cases to him for mediation.
Although Judge Ott estimates his mediation success rate after those first two remarkable years has slightly decreased for the approximately 700 additional mediations he has since handled, it has remained phenomenally high. The result has been a win-win for both litigants and judges.
Judge Ott's Self-Described Mediation Strategies
Judge Ott's mediations have ranged from the more than $1,000,000,000 Jefferson County bond issue dispute mediated in New York City with over 100 lawyers in attendance, to a case involving only $800. He has been mediating a prison case for the past three and a half years.
Judge Ott explains that each mediation is unique. He relies heavily upon the documents and position statements that he received before the mediation. He urges counsel to be candid in outlining the key facts and to discuss both the strong and weak points of their client's case. Prior to the mediation, Judge Ott often talks with his law clerks to analyze anticipated issues, and he sometimes consults with other magistrate judges.
At the beginning of the mediation, he explains the rules to the parties and the lawyers, including how offers are to be exchanged. He finds opening statements counterproductive, so he generally does not allow them. Lawyers are cautioned to avoid creating unrealistic expectations with their clients as to the facts and law. Judge Ott advises counsel to alert the mediator to potential impediments to settlement, both personal and otherwise. Apart from going to the restroom or ordering food, everyone must stay...
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