Coach, Cheerleader, Quarterback and the Mediator

The short answer, no. Many people get confused about this. An attorney gives you legal advice and helps you with recommendations based on their knowledge and experience. They also advocate and cheerlead for your positions. They help coach you. They quarterback all the plays and help with strategy. But they also try and get things resolved so you stay out of court. One method of doing that is to pick up the phone and call the other side. Another way is to send a settlement letter. Another way is to take the case to a mediator who listens to both sides and tries to help them solve all the issues. Why go to mediation? Maybe when you pick up the phone or send that letter, the other side ignores you or disagrees with you…so you take it to a third party to help get it resolved. It usually works. So you don’t have to choose between a coach, cheerleader, quarterback and mediation. The best scenario is to usually have both…you need a cheerleader, coach and quarterback but often need that mediator to help the other side see your point of view and come to agreement. Sometimes it takes a team to stay out of court.