CLLB Dispute Resolution Services

We Solve Problems

Resolution Through Conflict Mediation & Arbitration

The attorneys of the CLLB Dispute Resolution possess decades of experience successfully representing clients in civil cases, real estate and business disputes, estate and probate matters and family law. Attorneys Larry Church, Jason Lopp, Gary Banet and Dana Eberle are pleased to bring that experience to your cases, to bring about swift and positive resolutions through all forms of conflict resolution, including mediation and arbitration.

We take the parties from trying to “compare apples to oranges” to a place where they can begin to “just compare apples” and determine the best possible settlement. This process takes compromise and patience, but it works as long as all sides come to the table with an earnest desire to resolve their issues.

Benefits of our service include:

• Free travel to Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Scott, Jefferson, Orange and Washington Counties.

• Open to night and weekend appointments.
• Online scheduling.

Larry Church

Over his career as a civil trial lawyer, Larry has represented clients whose disputes range from a few hundreds of dollars to millions of dollars. He has litigated for and against individuals, large companies and governmental entities. Larry assists parties in resolving conflicts in mediation and arbitration by utilizing his common sense in combination with the skills learned over the course of his career to craft cost-effective and appropriate resolutions of disputes.

Jason Lopp

Jason represents individuals, family businesses, major corporations and financial institutions in real estate and business transactions and litigation. He has represented business owners, investors, lenders, developers, contractors, landlords, tenants, homeowners, and others through-out Indiana and Kentucky. Due to his litigation background, he utilizes his broad range of experience to assist others in resolving these and other matters as a civil mediator.

Dana Eberle

Dana actively handles all areas of family law, including divorce, adoptions, custody, unmarried parents who split, paternity issues, guardianships and same-sex marriage. When disputes arise within a family, some issues can’t be resolved with a handshake or verbal agreement. Dana focuses her mediation practice on resolving conflicts between couples and families related to all aspects of family law, both before or after litigation has been filed.

Gary Banet

Gary concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate and trust administration and litigation, guardianships, elder law and special needs planning. He helps families find solutions to their needs in a way that preserves not just their long-term financial health, but also the long-term health of their family relationships. Gary focuses his mediation practice on resolving conflicts between families related to estate planning, succession planning and probate matters.

What Is Mediation?

Mediation Attorneys in Indiana & Kentucky

Mediation is when two opposing parties sit down at a table and politely work out a solution that both can agree to.  Typically only civil cases can be mediated (with a few exceptions).  Civil cases that often are mediated include business disputes, landlord-tenant disputes, injury cases, small claims disputes, divorces, child custody disputes and contract disputes.  Hiring a lawyer as a consultant to offer advice and guidance during the mediation is substantially cheaper than hiring a lawyer to litigate your case.

One of the primary reasons to choose mediation over typical litigation is that it may help you maintain an important relationship with the person on the other side. Mediation is more cooperative and collaborative, so it is a good choice for disputes that involve business partners, co-parents or next door neighbors.  Mediation is also ideal because it is typically quick, less expensive and much less stressful for all parties involved.

The Different Types of Civil Mediation

Civil Mediation Attorneys

Civil mediation focuses on collaboratively resolving transaction and relationship disputes in a more comfortable yet binding manner.  Following are several common types of mediation:

Business Mediation

Small- and medium-sized businesses often benefit tremendously from using mediation rather than litigation to resolve conflicts. Business owners sometimes run into conflict with neighboring businesses, employees, customers, vendors or with their own business partners; yet, unlike large corporations, smaller businesses often lack public relations, human resources, and legal departments to help them deal with these conflicts.

What’s more, unless the situation is resolved amicably, the leftover hostility can affect a business owner’s quality of life — it can be unpleasant to engage with an unfriendly party on a day-to-day basis. Mediation is an efficient and effective way to resolve business disputes and maintain a sense of community.

Injury Mediation

Injury mediation refers to the process of settling disputes arising from accidents resulting in claimed injuries. The dispute will typically be between the injured party and the party responsible for their injury claims.

Injury mediation can be an effective means for resolving a vast array of insurance-related issues. In recent years, there has been slow but steady movement away from the expensive, stressful, and time-consuming adversarial legal system as a way of settling personal injury disputes. If you have reached an impasse in negotiations with an insurance company over settlement of your personal injury claim, mediation may offer a sensible way out.

Mediation can also serve as an efficient alternative to litigation for health, homeowner, life, travel, or pet insurance disputes. Keep in mind that an insurance company needs to agree to attend mediation; they cannot be forced. 

Estate/Probate Mediation

 
One of the ideal aspects of mediation in estate and probate cases is privacy.  Mediation does not result in a public record like a trial does.  Both the confidentiality and informal nature of mediation offer all parties the chance to deal with emotional issues surrounding family, parents and communal property.

Probate, trust, or guardianship disputes can result in an eruption of long-standing family problems (perceived favoritism, sibling rivalry, disapproval of a marriage, etc.).  This is when an impartial mediator can step in and lower the emotional temperature of the situation, offering solutions that are agreeable to all parties.

Family Law Mediation

Mediation can be a great alternative to litigation when it comes to things like divorce, child custody and child support.  A more relaxed mediation environment can make it easier emotionally on both adults and children, and mediation is more likely to produce results that both parties can find agreeable.  When you go to trial, the judge will make decisions about your family and it’s more likely that one party will feel like they “lost.”

Property Dispute Mediation

Many real estate contracts now require the parties to mediate disputes that might arise between them. Whether it’s a disagreement about the condition of a property, property line disputes, allegations of fraud or other details, mediation is a good first step in resolving property disputes.

Professional Malpractice Mediation

Unsuccessful surgeries, neglect of a loved one or other substandard care in medical facilities can result in malpractice disputes against physicians, nurses, hospital organizations and nursing home facilities.  Mediation can be an ideal way to resolve these disputes.

What Is “Alternative Dispute Resolution”?

Dispute Resolution Attorneys

There are several types of dispute resolution, and mediation is just one of these.  Other types of dispute resolution include arbitration and negotiated settlement.  These are all referred to as “alternative dispute resolution” because they are paths to resolving conflicts that can eliminate the need for lawsuits and trials in front of a judge.  Alternative dispute resolutions are often collaborative and designed to reach solutions that everyone can agree upon and accept.  They are also quicker, less expensive and more private than trials.

How Long Does Mediation Typically Take?

Understanding the Mediation Process

Statistically, most mediation cases last between a half day to a full day, some longer. Mediation is less cumbersome and time-consuming than litigation, which can last weeks, months and even years. The lawyers at Church, Langdon, Lopp, Banet Law can give you a better idea about the time it may take to mediate your specific civil case.  Please contact us at (812) 725-8224.

How Much Does Civil Mediation Cost?

Legal Services & Fee Structure

Private mediators generally charge by the hour. Many cases are resolved in less than a day. In addition to the cost of the mediator, each party must pay the fee of the party’s lawyer for assistance provided at the mediation. The mediator may initially request that each side pay a deposit equal to half of the expected fee, but the parties may later negotiate for a different payment schedule.

What Does the Mediation Process Look Like?

Dispute Resolution & Mediation

While there is no formal mediation process, mediation will typically follow these steps:

• The mediator will introduce himself or herself and make some opening comments about the rules and goals of mediation.
• Each side is given the opportunity to describe the dispute as he or she sees it without interruption from the other side.
• Depending on the mediator and the parties, the mediator may then start a mutual discussion with both of the parties present or may engage each party privately, going back and forth, working out each issue.
• After discussing the issues with the parties, a mediator will typically bring both parties together to jointly negotiate a solution.
• If the negotiation is successful, then the mediator will put down the agreement in writing, advise them to consult a lawyer, and ask them to sign, pending their lawyer’s agreement.
• If the negotiation was not successful, the mediator will typically summarize the issues the parties did agree on and advise them of their rights going forward.

Mediation Can Benefit Both Parties

Finding the Middle Ground

Usually the parties are able to reach a negotiated agreement. To speed up that process or help parties work through a few very contentious issues, a trained mediator can be invaluable. If the case will settle at some point, reaching that settlement sooner rather than later can result in huge savings in time and money.

A mediator is a neutral third party who helps those involved reach an agreement and put their dispute behind them and come to a mutual understanding that allows them to move on with their lives.

Mediation Is a Collaborative Solution

Working Together for Solutions

Mediation can be a safe time and place to tell one’s story to the other side and feel heard, but in a way that doesn’t ratchet up emotions that can make settlement more difficult. The parties can meet together to try to work things out or be in separate rooms, with the mediator shuttling back and forth.

The parties make hard decisions about what they truly need before they can resolve the conflict and decide what other issues can be compromised. Mediation can be a place where creative thinking can result in a way toward settlement that wasn’t considered before. Both parties can map out alternate routes to a place where everyone reaches their goals while leaving litigation behind.

The parties remain the decision-makers at a mediation. The mediator may make suggestions and guide them to reconciliation, but ultimately the parties decide what they’ll do. The parties may have huge financial and emotional stakes at issue, but if litigation proceeds they give up control of all that to strangers — the judge and jury.

Get Help with Your Kentuckiana Mediation

CLLB Law Mediation Services

Most private mediators in civil cases are lawyers with special mediation training and experience. Attorneys Larry Church, Dana Eberle, Jason Lopp, and Gary Banet have helped parties by using common sense in combination with the skills learned over the course of their legal careers to help craft cost-effective and appropriate resolutions of disputes. Over the years, they have seen trial after trial, dispute after dispute, and understand that mediation can be a much better way for all parties involved to end the conflict and get on with their lives.

If you find yourself fed up and stressed out because of a dispute or the litigation process and you need help to resolve your matter, give our mediation attorneys a call at (812) 725-8224.   Or schedule a mediation session with the calendar option at the top of this page. We will work tirelessly to help you reach an appropriate resolution to your dispute.

Client Testimonial

”Very nice and professional with exceptional knowledge of the laws, courts and Judge’s in the area! They made me feel comfortable and made everything easy for me. I am WOWED by Gary and his staff!!!” – Poppy Cobb (Google Review)

Attorney Larry Church

For more than 25 years, Larry has devoted himself to representing his clients with great skill and commitment while never forgetting that not only his clients, but those opposing them, are first and foremost people who deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Primarily, Larry is a trial lawyer. Over his career, he has represented clients whose disputes range from a few hundred dollars to millions of dollars. [ Attorney Bio ]