As I prepared this month’s column for “Employment Matters,” my editor Jonathan Ringel suggested I write on this month’s theme, “managing outside counsel.” After he rejected my topic that in-house counsel should simply manage outside counsel by granting all of my clients’ demands, I realized that my thoughts on this topic were too far from neutral. It then struck me that a true neutral—a mediator—would be in an ideal position to provide this advice. I reached out to several well-respected employment mediators and asked what they’d advise inside counsel to do when managing outside counsel handling a case. Their responses were enlightening:
Lee Parks: ‘Hire Settlement Counsel’
In-house counsel may want to give serious consideration to the timing of the mediation to manage fees associated with defending the claim. In certain instances, the claim can be mediated presuit or shortly after the complaint is filed. In-house counsel may want to encourage an informal exchange of documents to facilitate early settlement discussions.
