“Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain.” I was a trial judge for 20 years, the little man behind the curtain able to evoke great images of power through my (literally) elevated status and magnified voice. Not to mention the Darth Vader black robes. Oh ya, baby. I was it. Having spent the last seven years of my judicial career in a superior court civil independent calendar department, I had a front row seat to the human condition, and a good deal of authority to go with it. So, as I transitioned out of that role and into the ADR world of mediation, I made some interesting discoveries and some stark realizations. I wasn’t doing settlement conferences anymore. (Wow, Judge, you are perceptive). Hey, I heard that. Looking back on the world of settlement conferences and judicial hearings and forward on the world of mediation has convinced me that the house has truly dropped on my judicial career.
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