TESTIMONIALS

• "I thought Mr. Abern did a great job as a mediator. He worked hard to reach a settlement at mediation, and he is still following to try to reach a settlement in this matter. I would certainly mediate with Mr. Abern again, and I anticipate I will recommend him as a mediator for future cases."

• "This was my first time mediating with Steve. I found him knowledgeable, creative, and he realized when it was time to call it and issue a mediators proposal which I found to be a reasonable effort to resolve the case. I’d use Steve on RE matters in the future."

• "I liked Steve and I would use him again.  I thought he had a good grasp of the issues and the parties’ positions and was effective in getting the parties to best understand their case and the case of the other parties."

• "I thought Mr. Abern did a great job as a mediator. He worked hard to reach a settlement at mediation, and he is still following to try to reach a settlement in this matter. I would certainly mediate with Mr. Abern again, and I anticipate I will recommend him as a mediator for future cases."

• "This was my first time mediating with Steve. I found him knowledgeable, creative, and he realized when it was time to call it and issue a mediators proposal which I found to be a reasonable effort to resolve the case. I’d use Steve on RE matters in the future."

• "I have not mediated with Steve before.  I understand that he jumped in to cover a mediation at the last minute as Judge Paul Herbert notified the parties the day before mediation that he was ill.  Steven did an excellent job in terms of presenting information, settlement positions and considerations for settlement.  My clients were responsive to his presentation of the other parties' positions and his assessment of the case. Steve's temperament was even and non-reactive. He was open to discussing the cultural differences between the parties that may have impacted negotiations. Above all, he was respectful to me and my clients."

• "Steve is a very effective mediator. I find that he is able to get to the crux of the matter fairly quickly and he tells it like it is. I will use Steve as a mediator whenever possible."

• "Mr. Abern did an excellent job and was successful in resolving the case. He clearly has substantial experience and brought that experience to bear on the negotiations. He played an active part and this was a major factor in the success of the mediation. I would not hesitate to recommend him in the future."

• "I would use him again and intend to schedule him in the coming weeks and months on multiple cases that are in that area of California."

• "I think his biggest asset is he actually shows a level of care, even for a case that was on the Court’s reduced-fee basis, to give back by mediating in the fashion he does. You cannot teach someone to “give a damn,” as I like to say. He already does."

• "Mr. Abern was the opposite in every regard. He spoke with my clients, but never crossed any line, sufficient to get an understanding of how the accident occurred from their perspective. He also went to bat hard at the end so that we would not take a settlement that was unreasonable, and instead made it something that I think all parties were “content” with (which, in my opinion, means the mediation was fairly and appropriately conducted if no party feels like they ‘won.’)"

• "I am extremely satisfied with Mr. Abern’s approach to mediation. You sometimes run into the mediator who wants to essentially depose your client, discuss academics, or worse yet, be focused on forcing a settlement in order to look like the shining star of the process."

• "Steve was terrific, and dealt with a difficult settlement setup. Anyone who gets him as a mediator is lucky."

• “Steve did a fantastic job. The case was a difficult one and he was able to get a global settlement with multiple parties. I’ll be using him again.” 

• "Steven was terrific. This was my first time using him as a mediator, but it won't be the last!"