“I first met Joe when he conducted one of my mediations. He was a delight to have as the mediator, providing a voice of reason in conjunction with a demeanor of tranquility. I appreciated that he remained in a neutral and attentive posture throughout the mediation. Since that time, I have witnessed him in courtroom practice for several years. His experience and his demonstrated knowledge of multiple areas of the law qualify him as an excellent candidate for mediation, legal consultation, and legal representation.” – R.W.
Mediation & Arbitration
Mr. Dobkin is a Certified Circuit/County Civil Mediator, and was originally Certified on October 20, 1995. Mr. Dobkin is also a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator since 2020. To date, he has mediated hundreds of cases. In his many years of practice, he has developed a vast knowledge of many legal disciplines which assist him in helping others to resolve their disputes. Services cover all civil disputes, and those in litigation in state courts from single to multi-party claims. He understands the commitment required to bring about the desired result in resolving all of the issues involved. He brings a tremendous amount of positive energy and knowledge to the mediation table.
Mr. Dobkin has conducted Mediations in cases involving a wide range of civil litigation, including, but not limited to: Personal Injury & Wrongful Death, Legal Malpractice, Commercial Disputes, Insurance Coverage Disputes, Property Damage Claims, Probate Litigation, Landlord/Tenant Disputes, Consumer Disputes, Small Claims, Negligence, Torts, Business Contracts, Contract Disputes, Professional Malpractice, General Civil Matters, Discrimination Cases, Condominium/Real Estate, and Products Liability cases.
“World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor – it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.”
-President John F. Kennedy — (1917 – 1963)-
[American University Speech, June 10, 1963]
What is Mediation?
Mediation is the negotiation between disputing parties, assisted by a mediator, who is a neutral third party. It is the intervention into a dispute or negotiation by an acceptable, impartial and neutral third party (with no decision-making power) to assist disputing parties in voluntarily reaching their own mutually acceptable settlement of the issues in dispute.
What is Arbitration?
Arbitration is a method for resolving a dispute between parties. Arbitration takes place in front of an impartial and neutral decision-maker, an arbitrator, who will listen to each side and make a decision about the case. There are two types of arbitration–binding and nonbinding. In binding arbitration, the arbitrator’s decision is final. It may not be reviewed nor overturned by a court except in very limited circumstances, such as when fraud or misuse of power has been involved. In nonbinding arbitration, either party may reject the arbitration award and demand a trial instead. Parties often treat nonbinding decisions as an independent assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a potential lawsuit, with the aim of encouraging a settlement. But even in nonbinding arbitration cases, the arbitration agreement will often say that the award may become binding if the parties agree to it or wait too long to demand that the case return to court.
*Mr. Dobkin is available to mediate/arbitrate cases anywhere in Florida via the Zoom platform, and is also available on nights and weekends, if necessary, and/or more convenient for everyone involved.
