Competition Components
These are available to one side, NOT the other side, and provide background information, special issues, and party motivations
Confidential facts
What document do you give the clients at the end of the initial consultation?
Engagement letter
What is the first thing that happens when a mediation round starts?
Mediator opening statement
What is a common and preferred technique for information gathering that involves drilling into a specific issue?
Funneling
What is the closest thing to "criminal mediation" that we have discussed?
Restorative justice
What are the characteristics of an agenda?
Memorable, functional, and prioritized
Name two of the four types of fee provisions in the Stetson Elder Law Client Counseling Competition
Hourly, Contingency, Hardship, Retainer
What does ZOPA stand for and what does it mean?
Zone of Possible Agreement
Where the parties have common interests and could reach a mutual solution
Name an information gathering technique that involves something other than asking questions.
Strategic use of silence
Timeline
Demonstration
Name a legal issue that has consistently come up in our landlord-tenant client counseling and mediation fact patterns.
Implied Warranty of Habitability
Constructive Eviction
Name two reasons to call a caucus.
You are at an impasse and need to come up with a solution
You are confused and need clarification
There has been too much awkward silence and you need a change of pace
You are rounding out the agreement and want to make sure everything is solid
What does GUIGIMI stand for?
Goals, Underlying Intrests, Group Issues, Mutual Issues
What is the purpose of asking open-ended questions in information-gathering?
To prevent assumptions from limiting the amount of information gathered - an open ended question can bring information in that you would not have otherwise asked about, but is relevant.
An eight letter word that is a purpose of information-gathering
ADVOCACY
What category was worth more than explanation of the law in our client counseling competition scoring?
Professional Responsibility and Ethical Judgment
Explain the scoring category of "using the mediator"
Getting the mediator involved and being strategic with how the mediator is brought into the conversation, this is often a scoring category involved when someone calls a caucus.
Who should you notify if your client indicates a potential for elder exploitation?
Florida Bar Ethics Hotline, Appropriate authorities, law enforcement / State Attorney's Office
What concept should mediators keep in mind when considering how or how much to guide parties toward a certain resolution?
Party self-determination
What are the five types of questions in an initial client interview?
Open
Follow up
Closed
Leading
Summary
What term in a mediation report filed with a court requires the court to proceed past court-ordered mediation and to the next phase of litigation?
Impasse
NOT adjournment
You have ten minutes left in the mediation round and no team has called a caucus. Explain the pros and cons of calling a caucus vs not calling a caucus. What do you decide, and why?
Pros - using the mediator scoring, could break impasse, could be a final clarifier before reaching agreement
Cons - time is short, we might not need it, it might break momentum
Justify your choice.
Name the three ways to navigate incapacity that we focused on at the Stetson Elder Law Client Counseling Competition.
Power of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship
What are the five SCARF Drivers?
Status
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Fairness
What are the four types of questions in the S Questions Model?
Subject Matter
Structure
Seeking
Shift
What section of Florida statutes dictates court-mandated mediation? (I'll award half the points for the chapter number)
ยง 44.102 Fla. Stat.