Just a short note to express my thanks and a loud shout out to Phil Watkins who acted as our second mediator in a hotly contested case handled by my firm and the Dilley firm.
In fact, the police report placed 100% of the fault on our client who was operating a motorcycle when a CMV operator made what we contended was an unsafe and improper right-hand turn.
The first mediation less than 60 day ago ended in impasse with no offers despite the efforts of a prior skilled mediator who was handpicked by the defendants lead counsel. I was asked by that same defense lawyers shortly after the impasse, to suggest a second mediator and given them another chance, and they asked me to suggest someone who would not be bashful in pushing both parties toward resolution. They wanted someone who had real prior trial experience and someone that could talk straight to all the parties. They said they didn’t need a water carrier. I suggested Phil, he was vetted by the defense, and quickly accepted. Phil came in fully prepared to make the parties work toward resolution. We were dealing with multiple layers of coverage – multiple parties – and one of the carriers was insured by Lloyds of London on both the primary and excess levels with the complexities of different “names” for each level. The Lloyds coverage included a British representative in London who fully participated in the mediation and was skilled in the art of negotiation. Phil kept him late (past 1:00 a.m. London time). According to the lead defense lawyer and lead appellate lawyer Phil was extremely effective in analyzing the facts and legal issues and creating risk. When both sides separately expressed there was little chance the case was headed to resolution late in the day, despite great progress, he regrouped. He concluded giving the decision makers in London some additional information, and the night to think about it, would get us to resolution and asked us to keep the mediation open through the following day. . He was spot on as usual. The case resolved. We are blessed to have many highly qualified local mediators in San Antonio. To add to what Paula Wyatt has recently expressed Phil is Top Notch and should NOT be overlooked. He never let the prior impasse deter him, and turned what was probable impasse in the second mediation into an agreed resolution as a highly skilled mediator.