I wanted to thank you for your excellent work in the mediation of our nursing home case.…

Your background and your knowledge and experience in nursing home litigation made the mediation progress smoothly, and it was obvious to me that your claims experience gave you considerable credibility with the defense counsel and Vice President of Claims, who attended the mediation and was controlling the settlement dollars.

I look forward to working with you again in the future, and my client greatly appreciated your compassion, understanding and kindness in helping her deal with the serious emotional issues involving the death of her mother at the nursing home.

We are writing this letter of recommendation for Richard M. Strauss, Esq., as mediator for MediateOne, Inc.  Our law firm represented the plaintiff in a matter and Mr. Strauss was recommended by defense counsel.  Mr. Strauss presented himsef with a high level of professionalism while mediating this matter.  He exhibited expertise on the subject matter, had a satisfactory level of preparation and had an understanding of the key issues in this case.  His opening comments were specifically directed towards creating the concilitory environment necessary for compromise and resolution between the parties.  Mr. Strauss had a willingness to offer options and suggestions during the settlement negotiation phase of our mediation and our client was comfortable with Mr. Strauss as mediator.  We felt he was able to effectivly mediate regardless of jurisdiction or venue.

…I found that he provided an objective analysis of our case and showed great empathy and understanding to my injured client.  He worked hard to achieve a settlement in this mediation and we reached a result that was satisfactory to the plaintiff.  I would recommend Mr. Strauss to any of your future clients and in particular, for the unique issues involved in medical malpractice claims.

I had the pleasure of participating in a mediation recently in a serious wrongful death case involving an elderly lady who was severely injured at an assisted living facility.  At the request of the defense counsel, Charles Moody, from Nashville, we agreed to use Richard M. Strauss as the Mediator in the case.  I had never used Mr. Strauss before and did not know him personally, so I put an inquiry out on the Tennessee Trial Lawyer Association website to all of my fellow plaintiff trial lawyer members about him.  I am a past President of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) and I got close to a dozen responses from plaintiff trial lawyers in TTLA that gave rave reviews about him as a Mediator.  Therefore, we agreed to use him.

We conducted a mediation, and were able to successfully get the case settled for a substantial sum.  I had never used Mr. Strauss before as a Mediator, but I was very much impressed with his skills and ability during the mediation that he handled for us.  He is probably the best Mediator that I have ever had on a case in my 45 years of practice, and I would highly recommend him to anyone, regardless of which side of the case you are on.

From what I understand, Mr. Strauss does a tremendous amount of mediation involving cases against nursing homes and assisted living facilities, although he does other mediations as well.  He has mediated in most of the states across the country, and when he came here to the small town of Dunlap to mediate, this was the 272nd city in which he had mediated.  After he left the small town of Dunlap on Monday that week, he was then to New York City that Thursday to conduct a mediation there.  This gives you some idea as to the vast amount of experience that he has.

In the case that we had, it was evident that not only did he read and consider the position statements of both sides, but he also spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the medical records and other records that related to the case, so he was extremely prepared and understood the issues when we started.  He was also very good in his opening statement, particularly for the clients, and he also discourages opening statements by plaintiffs and defendants, which I totally agree with.  Many years ago, I quit making opening statements in mediations, because I found it to be counter productive in as much the defense lawyers always took issue with my opening statement, and I also took issue with their opening statement, so we all then started out adversarial from the beginning.

Mr. Strauss offered valuable insights as to both sides and called both sides to carefully evaluate their positions which made the settlement all the more likely.  My two clients were the adult sons of a 90 year old woman who died a year or so after her fall, and one of the clients lives in Chattanooga and was here at my office for the mediation, while the other client is an attorney in New York City and participated by phone.  Both clients were extremely pleased with the way the mediation was handled by Mr. Strauss.

Therefore, I would strongly recommend to any one to consider using Richard Strauss as a Mediator in whatever type of case you have.  If anyone has any questions about Mr. Strauss that I can answer, please feel free to contact me either by phone or email.

On December 22, 2005, I had the pleasure of mediating a complex nursing home case and Richard Strauss served as mediator.  I write because Mr. Strauss is the most effective nursing home case mediator I have experienced.  Mr. Strauss' preparation was impeccable and his grasp of the subject matter was total.  He was conversant in the most minute details of the litigation.

Further, in a contentious environment, his opening comments were effective in diffusing tension and in creating the environment necessary for successful resolution of the case.  At each turn in the mediation, Mr. Strauss was willing to offer options and suggestions that proved critical toward bringing the parties together.

I would also note that the mediation was successful because Mr. Strauss was able to relate to my client and my client became comfortable with and could trust him.

Richard Strauss is an exceptional mediator and I would strongly recommend him to my fellow Plaintiff's attorneys.

I am pleased to recommend Richard Strauss as a Mediator.  I recently had an opportunity to use Mr. Strauss as a mediator on a case involving the wrongful death of a resident of a nursing home.  As a Plaintiff's attorney, I found Mr. Strauss to be knowledgeable and prepared for the mediation.  I thought that he did an excellent job of explaining the process to my clients in a clear and understandable way.  His presentation was polished, yet sincere and helped pave the way toward a compromise in the claim.  His website and my ability to refer my clients to his website made the process seem more transparent and fair.  It instilled the confidence that this was a voluntary process that offered benefits for both plaintiff and defendant.  His familiarity with the case instilled in my clients the confidence that he was interested in their position as well as the positions of the defendant and allowed them to be comfortable with him on a personal level.

Our mediation involved a case pending in middle Tennessee and I found that Mr. Strauss was able to communicate his knowledge regarding Tennessee jury verdicts and claims.

I would be pleased to use Mr. Strauss again.

I recently had the pleasure of having Richard Strauss serve as the mediator of a complex medical malpractice case in Tennessee.  The focus of my practice is on nursing home neglect and abuse and medical malpractice.  When I first learned that Richard would be the mediator, I was skeptical because of his background and experience.  However, I felt that Richard objectively and impartially analyzed the facts and medical issues in the case and this led to a resolution of the case.  Richard was extremely prepared and had distilled the case down to its essence.  Iam confident that Richard's preparation helped both sides get down to the issues and that his assessments were on target.  Last, Richard's willingness to travel, at no expense to the parties, was extremely beneficial to my clients and the containment of case costs.

I would wholeheartedly use Richard again on any of my cases.

Please call me if you wish to speak with me personally about this letter

It was a pleasure having Richard M. Strauss, Esquire successfully mediate a case for me, Mark Pfeiffer and Wally Bley, as to a family nurse practitioner and the nursing home.  Mr. Strauss brought with him not only a vast knowledge of the good and the bad of nursing home cases, and how our case fit into each category, but also a high level of energy, which you know is necessary for a long drawn out mediation.  The conflicts between the plaintiffs side and the defense side are enough of a barrier to prevent a lot of mediations from being successful.  In our case, we also had competing defendants which added to the drama.  I would recommend Mr. Strauss to anyone for a fair resolution of a nursing home case.

I recently had occasion to work with Richard Strauss who mediated a case which our firm was handling.  Richard did a wonderful job and I highly recommend him as a mediator.

My case concerned nursing home negligence.  I represented the plaintiff, the surviving adult child of an elderly woman who died following a fall at the nursing home.  Defense counsel recommended Mr. Strauss to mediate the case.  I had never worked with Mr. Strauss, but agreed to utilize his services.  I reasoned that if the defendant was comfortable with the mediator, it might facilitate a settlement.

Mr. Strauss did an excellent job.  He had clearly done a great deal of preparation and was thoroughly knowledgeable about the facts and issues involved in the case.  His prior experience both as a mediator and a an adjuster handling similar claims on behalf of a nursing home operator was very helpful and an asset.  His analysis of the issues was appropriate and fair.  My client and I both found Mr. Strauss to be thoroughly professional and unbiased.  His recommendations and suggestions were appropriate and he was quite effective in bringing the two sides together for a reasonable settlement in a timely fashion.

I highly recommend Richard Strauss as a mediator and look forward to working with him again in the future.

I highly recommend Richard Strauss as a mediator in long-term care abuse and neglect cases.  Richard has served as the mediator in three of my cases and did an excellent job in each mediation.  In each case, Richard was extremely well prepared and had carefully analyzed the facts and applicable law.  His expertise in long-term care litigation was evident and gave Richard substantial credibility.

As a mediator, Richard seeks to create an atmosphere conducive to reaching agreement.  He takes great care to make sure the nursing home resident's family feel comfortable.  Richard is always considerate and never makes light of the family's loss.  Richard has all the skills required to be a successful mediator, including being a good listener.

Of my three cases in which Richard served as mediator, two settled in mediation.  The third did not because of a fundamental disagreement about the value of the case.

I recently participated in what turned out to be a successful mediation with Richard Strauss. Several years had passed since I participated in a mediation with Mr. Strauss. This time around, the defense lawyer suggested Mr. Strauss and with some reluctance because of his defense background, I agreed to his conducting the mediation.

As it turns out, Mr. Strauss did an excellent job in all phases of the mediation process. He first met with my clients and explained the process to their satisfaction and mine. He displayed an excellent knowledge of the issues including without limitation the strengths and weaknesses of both parties.  Sometimes and it is true in this case, clients just want to vent and express their frustration over what happened that led them to the mediation table.  Mr. Strauss was genuinely compassionate to my client's position and I truly believe that his compassion and understanding of the client's emotional position went a long way to getting the case settled.

I have found other mediators sometimes exude an aura of superior knowledge because of their personal experiences in the courtroom. Their approach is different than Mr. Strauss' approach to the mediation process. His techniques, level of preparation along with the comfort level that he creates with the client, I believe is much more effective.

As Plaintiff's attorney, I recently mediated a case against a Chattanooga hospital involving the alleged abuse of a patient by a hospital nurse.  Richard M. Strauss served as the neutral.  He traveled to Chattanooga for the mediation session without additional charge.

I wish to say that my client and I were very pleased by Mr. Strauss' professional demeanor and the tremendous effort he made to make the mediation session an ultimate win for us.  I additionally benefited from the pre-mediation packet he sent, which outlined common mistakes Plaintiff's attorneys make at mediation.  While I had participated in mediation sessions previously, his insights were very worthwhile and helped insure a successful day.

I strongly recommend the services of Mr. Strauss to anyone anticipating mediation of a liability-oriented dispute.  His professional expertise, social demeanor and mediation skills worked to put both sides at ease and to open the conduit of settlement negotiations.