"Disputes are inevitable. The real question is whether the parties will take control of their dispute or will let their dispute control them."
About
My Story
After nearly three decades as a litigator representing parties in disputes, I now primarily focus my efforts on helping others resolve their disputes in mediation.
I worked for 18 years as a litigation partner in a large law firm and have spent the last 9 years in a small law firm, Ransdell Roach & Royse, where I remain affiliated. (For more information on my litigation background and experience, see http://www.rrrfirm.com/david-t.-royse.html).
I have represented banks, utilities, healthcare providers and equine businesses, and have also represented many plaintiffs and their families who have experienced serious personal injuries and tragic fatalities.
I know what it is like to sit with a family who has suddenly lost a loved one or is facing a life-changing injury. I know what it is like to advance expenses on a contingency case, and to wait for a jury verdict with a client, knowing that neither one of us may get paid.
I have written quarterly case updates to insurers and risk managers, briefed in-house counsel and C-Suites, and have seen how litigation can consume a business organization in ways well beyond legal fees and verdict exposure.
In all of these contexts, I have counseled my clients in considering alternatives to resolving their disputes through litigation, and I have learned some of the best (and worst) mediation techniques from experience representing my own clients in scores of mediations.
I have been very fortunate to represent some wonderful clients in some important cases and to practice with and against some fantastic attorneys. I believe the American civil adversary process is among the best in the world. But I also know, from lived experience, that civil litigation can be woefully unsatisfactory in the outcomes it delivers and the time and cost it can take to deliver them.
Make no mistake, I earnestly believe some cases just need to be tried. I’ve had some of those. But I also believe the best outcome is often achieved when participants in a dispute take control of their dispute, rather than letting their dispute control them.
Education and Experience
I grew up in Jessamine County, where I still live. I graduated from Jessamine County High School in 1991, obtained my Bachelors Degree from Birmingham-Southern College (RIP), cum laude, in 1995, and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law, cum laude, in 1998. I have taught Law & Economics as an adjunct professor at the UK College of Law.
I completed my initial mediation training at the Harvard Negotiation Institute in 2009. I subsequently completed the 45-hour Advanced Mediation Skills Course through the Edwards Mediation Academy. (Bruce Edwards, a pioneer in the field of alternative dispute resolution, has mediated over 6,000 cases and has been an instructor at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law for over thirty years.) While I was still engaged in a full-time, active litigation practice, I only mediated select cases based on private requests by parties and attorneys, but did not offer this service publicly. Mediation is now the primary focus of my practice.
These are some of the areas in which I have significant litigation experience:
- Personal Injury and Wrongful Death (Plaintiff and Defendant)
- Employment Claims (Plaintiff and Defendant)
- Banking and Lender Liability (Plaintiff and Defendant)
- Trust and Estate Disputes (Fiduciaries, Beneficiaries, Charitable Organizations)
- Eminent Domain (Condemnation) (Utility Condemnors, Highway Condemnees)
- Real Estate, Zoning and Land Use (Plaintiffs and Defendants, Developers and Objectors)
- Thoroughbred Industry Disputes (Racing, Sales, Breeding, Regulatory)
- Defamation (Plaintiff and Defendant)
- Medical malpractice (Plaintiff and defense)
- Class Actions (Plaintiff)
- Business Breakups (Closely held and family businesses and professional firms)
Approach to Mediation
My mediation approach is pragmatic and practical.
In litigating hundreds of cases, I never found a one-size-fits-all approach. Every case is unique. Parties and personalities are unique. Goals and objectives are unique. Facts and issues are unique. Each case has its own “feel.” This is just as true when it comes to resolving a case as it is when trying one. And just like a good trial lawyer, a good mediator has to be dynamic and able to adapt on the fly, because every case is different and nothing ever goes just as planned.
I prepare and work hard to understand the parties’ perspectives so I can help them resolve their own dispute.
No mediator, no matter how wise or effective, has ever settled a dispute without the parties’ participation. And no mediator can make parties settle their dispute unless they decide to. I help parties identify and evaluate issues and alternatives they may not have considered or even realized were in play. This takes preparation, creativity, flexibility and an ability to really listen closely. And a lot of patience.
I listen so the parties to a dispute can hear.
I believe a fundamental skill of a good mediator is the ability to LISTEN. In the heat of a dispute, it can be really difficult for parties and their lawyers to actually HEAR. I mean this both literally and figuratively. Our human psychology can cause us to perceive the world very differently from a person sitting right next to us. Layer in the emotions, stress and personal investment that are ever present in a serious dispute, and our perceptions often do not match reality, despite our most honest intentions. A good mediator can help the parties actually HEAR better. When we can clearly HEAR one another, the chances of reaching resolution increase exponentially.
Human beings value agency in our outcomes.
I’m not a big fan of running the vacuum cleaner. But I am infinitely more resistant to running a vacuum cleaner if someone tells me I have to than if I decide to do it because it needs to be done. Parties can embrace outcomes when they have genuine ownership in them, rather than having outcomes imposed upon them. One of my jobs as a mediator is to help the parties find a way to take ownership of their outcomes. Disputes are inevitable. The real question is whether the parties will take control of their dispute or will let their dispute control them.
Terms
I only schedule one mediation per day, regardless of anticipated length.
Your scheduling request through my website will reserve your requested mediation date and time, but is subject to confirmation and a conflict check. I can usually confirm on the same day I receive the identities of all parties and their counsel.
I will provide a standard Mediation Agreement for the parties and their counsel to review and sign prior to mediation.
I thoroughly review the materials submitted by the parties before mediation and may have a brief pre-mediation call with each party or its counsel. I can work with the parties to help plan the mediation in advance to meet their needs. In my experience, some basic preparation before the mediation can save time and expense at the mediation and can increase the chances of reaching a resolution.
My hourly rate for mediations is currently $350. I don’t charge administrative or overhead fees Parking is free and just a few steps from the door. If the parties request me to mediate at a location outside central Kentucky, I may seek reimbursement for my travel expense.
I understand scheduling surprises happen. Because I only schedule one mediation per day, if you need to cancel or re-schedule I just ask that you let me know as soon as possible so I can make the date available to others. In the event of a no-show, or repeated cancellations without adequate notice, I reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee of $500.
Royse Resolution is affiliated with the law firm of Ransdell Roach & Royse PLLC.
Mediation Calendar
I only schedule one mediation per day. I offer Full Day and Half-day mediations via Zoom, or In-Person at my offices or at a location designated by the parties.
My real-time availability calendar for Full Day Zoom mediations is below.
If you prefer an In-person Mediation or a Half-day Mediation, or prefer to mediate at an Off-site location designated by the parties, just click the link below…
