Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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While attending my first post- Covid conference on mediation in Atlanta in 2022, sponsored by the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, or NADN, my longtime friend and colleague, Larry Watson (a name principal in the Maitland, Fla., office of Upchurch Watson White & Max (see https://bit.ly/44QxdmI)), received a lifetime distinguished service award.

I was pleased that his body of work and contributions to the ADR field were recognized as a well-deserved honor bestowed upon him before many of the most prominent North America ADR practitioners. When we chatted afterward, I was heartened by the fact that he mentioned he frequently uses a technique I developed more than 25 years ago as a tool for complex cases involving many parties. See Robert A. Creo, “How a ‘Blind Trust Method’ Resolves Multi-Defendant Cases,” 17 Alternatives 145 (September 1999) (available at https://bit.ly/3OHjFV7).

The blind-trust method accentuates a creative response to a problem by the parties to encourage resolution. Such creative moves are, at least at times, the heart and soul of mediation.