Cramer & Anderson Partner Chris Sochacki.
Cramer & Anderson Partner Christopher Sochacki recently completed a 40-hour mediation certificate training program offered by the Quinnipiac University School of Law Center on Dispute Resolution.
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tool that provides a productive and far less expensive process for resolving a dispute than litigation.
The goal of mediation is not necessarily to find “middle ground” as a solution, but rather to achieve “common ground” that hopefully allows all parties to reach an understanding and agreement that results in a benefit to all involved, something litigation does not accomplish.
While Attorney Sochacki’s Civil Litigation practice focuses on helping people who have been wronged or injured—including Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation cases—his comprehensive training in mediation and conflict management applies to all types and aspects of litigation, including pre-litigation.
“The benefits of mediation extend to any type of dispute, disagreement, or negotiation, and shouldn’t be reserved only for issues otherwise headed to litigation,” Attorney Sochacki said, noting that mediation has taken on added importance during the COVID pandemic when Connecticut courts are not holding trials in civil litigation cases.
“I can apply the skills learned to a wide variety of matters including, but not limited to, personal injury, workers’ compensation, property disputes, family law, probate disputes, employment discrimination, and other types of employer/employee disputes,” Attorney Sochacki added.
The certificate program training positions Attorney Sochacki to assist people in resolving issues that might also range from the negotiation of a business or employment contract, for example, to a boundary line disagreement between neighbors, or even a personal disagreement among family members.
“I am trained to mediate between two or more parties to any dispute or conflict, whether all parties are represented by counsel, all are self-represented, or a combination,” noted Attorney Sochacki, whose 17 years of experience as an insurance defense counsel before joining Cramer & Anderson provides him with a unique perspective of handling and understanding all sides of a disagreement or issue being litigated.
Attorney Sochacki was one of 22 participants in The Center for Dispute Resolution’s most recent 40-hour certificate program, which ran closer to 50 hours including additional online time. In addition to attorneys, social workers and others also participated.
The Center on Dispute Resolution program, which began in 1998, was ranked 18th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020 Best Graduate School rankings, according to Quinnipiac.
Cramer & Anderson Partner Ken Taylor
Meanwhile, Cramer & Anderson Divorce & Family Law Partner Ken Taylor was recently certified in divorce mediation through the Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce.
In addition to divorce mediation, Attorney Taylor guides families through a process known as collaborative divorce, which, like mediation, can save families money and emotional scars.
In 2019, Partner Barry S. Moller, whose practice focuses primarily on Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury, participated in a unique mediation course offered at the peace and reconciliation organization Corrymeela in Northern Ireland.
Cramer & Anderson Partner Barry Moller
“The larger benefit of these certifications is that Cramer & Anderson is now able to offer our clients the powerful benefits of mediation across essentially all of our nearly 20 practice areas,” Attorney Taylor explained. “The firm’s great strength, other than our legal team’s many decades of experience, is our collaborative approach that has attorneys specializing in different practice areas working together to address and resolve the nuanced real-world issues people face. Now Attorney Sochacki and I, along with Attorney Moller and Partner Randy DiBella, who also has ADR experience, can work collaboratively with our colleagues to extend the benefits of mediation to any issues clients may present for resolution.”
Working With Cramer & Anderson
Our attorneys and staff are working in our offices, where proper sanitation and social distancing measures remain strictly observed amid the COVID-19 coronavirus, as well as remotely.
Attorneys are available as usual by phone or email, and are also connecting with clients using technology such as Zoom. For more information, see the firm’s website or call the flagship office in New Milford at (860) 355-2631. Other regional offices are located in Danbury, Ridgefield, Kent, Washington Depot, and Litchfield.
