Mediation Services
Leveraging Experience to Resolve Disputes
With experience garnered through practicing law in the Kansas City Metropolitan area across five decades (beginning in the early 1980s), focusing primarily on corporate, securities, real estate and business law matters, Philip Krause has negotiated and resolved scores of disputes, both as a party advocate and as an intermediary between opposing interests. These often concern the terms of a deal being structured or unwound, involving parties to heated contests prior to or during litigation.
In addition to his well-established law practice, Philip also offers mediation services to disputing parties and their legal counsel, primarily in business-based disputes, who seek an opportunity to resolve rather than exploit or expand their differences, and who believe the assistance of an experienced lawyer acting as a neutral to facilitate meaningful discussions could make the difference. Philip is typically available and flexible to schedule prompt and convenient mediation dates, including pre- and post-mediation conferences when needed. He shows up well-prepared from information supplied by the parties without wasting the parties’ time with a steep learning curve.
Listening to Positions, Proactively Addressing Issues
Where a dispute has already ripened into litigation, mediation may be required by the court even where the parties may not think they are ready for a settlement, but where they might find value in exploring possible solutions with a dispassionate third party. Philip, who lectures frequently on negotiating principles, brings his considerable knowledge and experience to assist these parties in seeking mutually-agreeable answers. When resolution may involve a transaction rather than a money payment, Philip’s transactional experience can provide invaluable guidance to help structure the deal. Philip’s mediation style is proactive, and he can draw on his deep experience to suggest innovative solutions when the parties may be stuck in a paradigm or have become entrenched in their positions.
Both Sides Can Win
Here are a few principles Philip’s experience teaches can help parties to find a result they all want:
- Treat others as you want to be treated (based on the Ewing Kauffman version of the “business golden rule”)
- Determine whether each party really understands what they need, as well as what the other party needs, in order to find a solution
- Dig deeper to find the issues, rather than merely dealing with positions
- A bad deal for one party is actually a bad deal for all the parties, so each party has a stake in finding a good deal for the other parties
Recognized Experience
In addition to his years of experience, Philip’s mediation credentials include:
- Licensed to practice law in Missouri and Kansas
- Missouri Bar Association Rule 17 Approved Neutral (Missouri Sup. Ct. Rule 17)
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (Missouri Bar Association)
- The Association of Missouri Mediators (see org)
- Seventh Judicial Circuit (Clay County, Missouri) Dispute Resolution Services for Rent and Possession Cases, volunteer mediator
- University of Missouri School of Law, Mediation Training for Civil Cases (2018)
- Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell (see com/ratings)