I have had the privilege of working with Richard Strauss as the mediator in three nursing home cases. Two settled upon reasonable terms. The third did not produce a settlement despite Richard's best efforts: the plaintiff's demand was too high and the case was eventually tried to a defense verdict.
Richard was initially recommended to me based on his extensive experience in dealing with nursing home and medical issues. He is unfailingly polite and cooperative in scheduling and conducting mediations. His rates are reasonable. His principal strength as a mediator, however, is the wealth of experience he brings to the table. As a result, he is able to effectively and credibly analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the case from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives. His mediation skills serve both sides well in bringing about a reasonable resolution to difficult cases.
I would recommend Richard Strauss as a mediator without hesitation, and we will use his services again when the opportunity arises.
I am writing to recommend Richard M. Strauss as a competent, enthusiastic and effective mediator. I have been practicing in the field of insurance defense for 12 years. My practice includes a variety of personal injury litigation, and, more particularly, nursing home litigation. As I was preparing to mediate a nursing home case recently, plaintiff's counsel recommended that we use Mr. Strauss as our mediator. Upon reviewing his credentials I agreed, and as thrilled to discover my national claim representative was not only familiar with Mr. Strauss but was very pleased to hear that he would be mediating the case.
Overall, I found that Mr. Strauss was exceptionally prepared for mediation and knowledgable about the issues in the case. I had prepared a mediation statement conforming to his requested format approximately one week prior to the mediation. On the day of mediation I was able to have Mr. Strauss on the phone with my claim representative and corporate counsel to have a thorough discussion of the issues in the case. I cannot underscore how helpful it was that Mr. Strauss has a background in this field and was able to objectively spot the issues, both positive and negative, that we would face if we were to bring this case to trial.
Overall, I was very pleased with Mr. Strauss' willingness to try different strategies throughout the course of mediation to help us achieve a result. I felt that his opening comments were useful to the plaintiffs, who of course have very little knowledge of litigation, and were also helpful to the claim representative who attended the mediation. I found Mr. Strauss to be one of the best mediators with whom I have ever worked, and I am planning to mediate with him again in the near future.
Should you have any questions or need further information about Mr. Strauss' strategies, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would whole heartedly recommend that any defense attorney utilize his services, particularly in the field of nursing home litigation.
Richard Strauss mediated a significant case for us... Mr. Strauss did an excellent job. The case ultimately settled in accordance with the positions he framed on the day of mediation. He was aggressive yet diplomatic in communicating with all parties under unique and somewhat difficult circumstances. My client was particularly impressed even though Mr. Strauss had to deal with him by telephone. I would highly recommend Mr. Strauss for mediation in the field of health care law.
I recently participated in the mediation of a complex malpractice action where Richard Strauss served as the mediator. The target defendant was a nursing home, and additional defendants were an emergency physician and a local hospital. The plaintiffs were represented by an aggressive and experienced plaintiff firm here in Knoxville.
While the case did not settle at the end of the day, Richard's yeoman efforts ultimately brought success, and the case was resolved a few days later. Richard spent a great deal of time with the plaintiffs, finding a way to defuse their hostility and bring them to a more reasonable frame of mind. He was able to gain the confidence and trust of the defendants, constantly emphasizing the need to realistically assess the pros and cons of continuing to litigate. I am not sure that any other mediator would have been successful.
Richard's understanding of the issues and ability to communicate with all parties, along with his firm and persistent encouragement, led to the ultimate settlement of the case. I have no hesitation in recommending Richard Strauss as a mediator in any lawsuit, particularly in healthcare liability matters.
Recently, I had the pleasure of defending a nursing home case in Memphis, Tennessee. The claim was successfully mediated by the parties through Richard M. Strauss, Esq. Mr. Strauss did an excellent job of analyzing the issues and explaining to the parties the realistic settlement value of the claim. I was so impressed with Mr. Strauss' mediating skills, that I plan to retain him for future mediations in nursing home and personal injury cases that I may defend.
If you have any questions concerning this matter, please feel free to call me.
As a nursing home medical malpractice litigator, practicing on the side of the defense, I can recommend Richard Strauss to serve in the capacity of a mediator in any medical malpractice and long term care personal injury case. I recently mediated four long-term care personal injury cases involving allegations of wrongful death and decubitus ulcers, and was able to settle three of them.
I found Mr. Strauss to be extremely prepared for the mediations. He was also insightful and offered great assistance during the mediations regarding the strengths and weaknesses of our cases, as well as the potential value at trial.
Feel free to give me a call if you would like to discuss Mr. Strauss' ability to serve as a mediator in any of these cases. I plan on using him again in the future.
I recommend without qualification Richard Strauss as a mediator in nursing home resident injury and wrongful death cases. My experience with him is that he attends the mediation fully prepared and understands the legal and clinical issues presented by both sides. His opening comments set the tone for a spirit of compromise and resolution. Mr. Strauss works hard throughout the entire process from the time of scheduling to the ultimate resolution of the case. He takes the time to address each issue that is relevant to the parties and works well with the clients. He begins working before the mediation starts and does not stop when the mediation ends. Because he has experience in so many states, I have found that when I have out-of-state opposing counsel, they respect his ability to evaluate the case.
Finally, my clients and I appreciate the fact that Richard works on a flat fee and so the amount of work he does before, during and after the mediation is truly the result of an excellent ethic. We know ahead of time there will not be any surprises on the bill. It is for these reasons that I use Richard Strauss as a mediator and recommend that others do so as well.
Please accept this letter as my recommendation of Richard Strauss as a highly qualified and professional mediator.
As a defense attorney for a nursing home in a wrongful death action, I had the pleasure of using Mr. Strauss as our mediator. Mr. Strauss was well versed in issues that were distinct to nursing home litigation and was extremely prepared, even though our mediation took place on short notice. His demeanor with both the plaintiffs and defendants was extremely professional and created a very cordial environment between the parties under the circumstances. Although I was not privy to confidential meetings with the plaintiffs, he was very analytical in the discussion of the issues with my clients. He offered suggestions which kept the mediation flowing even when it appeared that it might stall. In short, Mr. Strauss' professionalism was a major factor in getting this particular case settled.
I was extremely impressed by the fact that Mr. Strauss charged a flat rate, yet made it clear at the beginning of the mediation that he intended to utilize the entire day and not rush into the process of exchanging numbers. He spent most of the morning getting the parties comfortable with the issues and the afternoon was dedicated to arriving at a number both parties could agree upon. Obviously, on a flat fee rate it would have been more economically beneficial to him to shorten the length of the mediation but he never attempted to rush the process.
In summary, I would recommend Mr. Strauss as a mediator to not only defense attorneys but also plaintiff attorneys in that he demonstrated an excellent command of the process and brought this complicated matter to a close in one day.
Thank you for resolving our case in Nashville.
Randy Kinnard recommended that we use you, and others in my firm had success with you mediating other complicated medical negligence cases. You were prepared on the facts and legal issues, which I think helped particularly in our case, as both standard of care and causation were disputed.
I think that your "pep talk" to the participants at the beginning of the mediation, emphasizing the role and positives of mediation, and specifically directing that to the plaintiffs, put everyone in the right mindset to get the case resolved. As we moved along, you were excellent in instructing our room on how to get to the point we wanted to get to.
Bottom line, you did a good job in a hard case with a lot of issues (factual and legal) and a bunch of lawyers who believed in their positions.
We appreciate it.