BCS: Helping business clients with opportunities and through crises since 1995

Mediation And Arbitration

The mediation and arbitration attorneys at Briskin, Cross & Sanford bring decades of courtroom and transactional experience to the negotiating table to help parties arrive at an effective resolution without litigation. Mediation and arbitration, often collectively referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution, is designed to keep legal battles out of the courtroom, and to provide a cost-effective and expedient solution for parties to a dispute.

Mediation:

Mediation is the use of a trained third-party to assist the parties to a dispute in reaching a common ground and resolving their dispute on terms that the parties themselves agree upon.  While the mediator works with the parties, jointly and independently, to reach an agreement, the mediator does not decide the ultimate outcome of the dispute.

The advantages of mediation include:

  • Reduced Cost
  • Scheduled at the convenience of the parties
  • Finality
  • Confidentiality
  • Civility
  • More expedient resolution
  • Control of the outcome

As members of the premier business transactional and litigation law firm in the North Atlanta area, our mediators are well versed in the issues that face business owners and know how to bring parties together even in the most seemingly contentious situations.

The mediation attorneys at Briskin, Cross & Sanford specialize in resolving all types of business litigation matters, including:

  • Shareholder and partnership disputes
  • Contract disputes
  • Intellectual property disputes
  • Fiduciary duty breaches
  • Disputes arising out of the purchase and sale of a business
  • Real estate disputes
  • Employment issues, including breaches of restrictive covenants
  • Franchise disputes

Additionally, with fifty years of combined legal experience, the mediation attorneys at Briskin, Cross & Sanford provide mediation services in all other areas of law, including:

  • Personal injury and medical malpractice
  • Domestic disputes
  • Trust and estate disputes

Arbitration:

Arbitration, unlike mediation, provides a private forum where the “arbitrator” acts as the judge and jury, deciding legal and factual issues in order to resolve a legal dispute in an efficient and money saving manner.  Instead of waiting months or years to have their cases heard in court, the parties to a legal dispute can opt to present their dispute to an experienced attorney, who, acting as the arbitrator, will hear the case and render a binding decision.  Often, a contract controlling the parties’ relationship contains an “arbitration provision” requiring the parties to present a dispute to arbitration in lieu of the state and federal courts.  However, even where no arbitration provision requires the parties to arbitrate, the advantages of arbitration form the basis for parties opting to arbitrate.

The advantages of arbitration include:

  • Scheduled at the convenience of the parties
  • Finality. Generally, arbitration decisions cannot be appealed.
  • More expedient resolution
  • Experience. The decision maker has legal experience and knowledge of the subject matter, as opposed to six or twelve jurors making a decision.
  • Confidentiality
  • Potential ability to limit the outcome.

Our Mediators & Arbitrators.

Hon. Michael A. Penn, Esq.Michael A. Penn has been practicing law since 1993 and focuses his practice on business transactions, corporate law, intellectual property law, and commercial litigation.  Additionally, Mr. Penn has served as a Fulton County Magistrate Judge since 2015, presiding over hundreds of cases, including contract and other general civil disputes, landlord/tenant disputes, garnishments, and criminal matters.  Judge Penn brings firsthand knowledge and experience from the bench to the negotiating table in order to successfully facilitate the resolution of disputes.

David M. Messer, Esq.: Mr. Messer has been practicing law since 2001 and focuses his practice on business litigation, mediation, and arbitration in all Georgia courts and federal courts.  A seasoned trial attorney, Mr. Messer knows first-hand the risks involved in both bench and jury trials, and the benefits of parties engaging in mediation or arbitration in maintaining control of resolving disputes.