I have been asked to offer my recommendation of Richard M. Strauss, Esq., as a mediator in civil cases.  As a Plaintiff's attorney with a personal injury practice which emphasizes nursing home and medical malpractice cases, I was very impressed with Richard's ability to move a case toward resolution.  Most impressive is Richard's willingness to work diligently before the mediation even starts to know the subject matter and issues.  He also works long after the mediation fails to settle a case.  In fact, in a recent case in Tennessee, Richard was involved for several months after mediation to obtain a favorable result.

Richard's background affords him a working knowledge of the values in nursing home and medical cases.… I would anticipate that any complex case would be well within his expertise as a mediator.

Our clients seemed to appreciate his easy demeanor, his level of preparedness and his style of coming across helpful toward a resolution, instead of 'browbeating' a plaintiff into accpeting less.

I will certainly use Richard again, regardless of which state we are in, and I would encourage you to consider him. In the event you would like more information about him, please let me know.

I wanted to inform you of the great work performed by mediator Richard M. Strauss with regard to the…case that was mediated.  I have personally been involved in over 100 nursing home cases with as many as 75 involved in mediation.… Richard's experience, both in long term care and as a mediator, were certainly the most important reasons that this case settled.  I honestly believe that this case would not have settled if it had not been for Richard Strauss.

I write to recommend Richard Strauss to anyone in need of a uniquely knowledgeable and extraordinarily effective mediator in the area of nursing home and medical malpractice litigation.… Richard's background in the healthcare industry, his familiarity with standards of care, and his grasp of the often sophisticated causation theories in cases of this sort have proved invaluable to me and my clients.… He has worked late into the evening, and continued working after the mediation session was suspended to bring a resolution to the case.… In my experience, this level of dedication is rare.

I have recently had the opportunity to utilize the services of Richard M. Strauss as a mediator in an extremely complicated medical malpractice case here in El Paso.… I was extremely impressed with Mr. Strauss' technique, his devotion, and his ability to sort through some rather complex medical issues to get the case resolved.  I will certainly use him again.  The sooner the better!

Thank you for all of your post mediation efforts in this case.  I think your significant efforts to resolve at least a portion of this case went above and beyond the call of duty.

I will keep you posted on the results from trial against Dr.…

Mr. Strauss was able to get to the core issues quickly and he is knowledgeable about the issues and risks involved in nursing home cases.  Mr. Strauss worked hard to get this case resolved for a fair amount for both parties.  In addition he was courteous and respectful to all parties and their counsel which is also an asset.

I am writing this letter as a strong recommendation of Richard Strauss as a Mediator.  I mediated a case for the first time with Richard on November 15, 2004.  The case was a complex nursing home malpractice case stemming from the death of a nursing home resident.  I represented the Plaintiff, the surviving son of the decedent.

I was very impressed with Richard.  First of all, it was readily apparent that he had made himself completely familiar with the facts of the case.  I had sent a voluminous package to Richard with all of the key documents.  From his insightful comments and his recognition of the critical issues in the case, it was apparent he had read every single document that I had enclosed.

Richard was exceedingly patient, very sensitive to my client, and he remained optimistic and positive throughout the day, which I believe encouraged both sides in the settlement negotiations.  At the end of a long day, we were able to get the case settled.

I would use Richard again in any personal injury case, not merely a nursing home case, and I would, with great confidence, recommend him to my friends.

We write as trial lawyers who recently successfully mediated a nursing home death case with Richard Strauss.  We cannot recommend Mr. Strauss highly enough.

Our case involved an elderly individual who had been placed in long-term care.  While at the nursing home, she suffered a series of falls that we contended led to her death.

In an attempt to resolve the case without filing suit, we suggested mediation to the adjuster for the facility's insurance company.  We asked the adjuster to suggest a mediator.  She suggested Richard Strauss.  Before this, we had never mediated a case with Mr. Strauss.  In fact, it was our understanding that Mr. Strauss had mediated many cases with this particular insurance company.

Our case settled at mediation.  We were able to reach the settlement as a result of Mr. Strauss' preparation and hard work.  Mr. Strauss was thoroughly conversant with the medical records.  He was able to explain to our clients the process of mediation and what was going on throughout the day.  They trusted him.   This is very important.  As it is often their first mediation, we believe that it is important for clients to be comfortable with the mediator.

Finally, although he is based in Duluth, Georgia, Mr. Strauss' practice is nationwide.  We would not hesitate to use him again for a mediation in Houston, Texas.

We invite anyone who reads this letter to contact us with any questions.

When I received his C.V.  I was reluctant, to say the least, to agree to have Mr. Strauss serve.  After speaking to several plaintiff's attorneys who have mediated with him, I decided to give him a try.  I believe that Richard's background makes him uniquely qualified to objectively analyze a case and communicate the risks involved to all parties.  I believe he worked hard to resolve the claim, and my clients were comfortable with him.

I would recommend his services to any Plaintiff attorney handling a nursing home matter.

Notwithstanding this mediator's strong defense background, I found Mr. Strauss to be very fair and competent.  My clients liked Mr. Strauss as well, and felt very comfortable with him.  I would certainly recommend Mr. Strauss for his mediation skill on any nursing home or medical negligence case.

As a Plaintiff's attorney, I appreciated the expeditious, yet thorough manner in which this case was mediated, and the professional caring manner in which Mr. Strauss presented himself.

This was a particularly challenging case with six Defendants, including an HMO, a nursing home and four physicians.  The case involved managed care issues, nursing home liability and medical malpractice.… Mr. Strauss worked diligently for over twelve hours to bring the parties together.  I believe his unique experience on the insurance claims side of the business was instrumental in resolving the case.

Thank you for taking the time and interest recently to fly to Texas to mediate my clients' nursing home case.  Finding a good mediator for these cases is difficult.  Usually, mediators with a defense background have a 'defensive' frame of mind.  You don't.  A good mediator in these cases is comprised of equal parts legal/factual analysis and visceral reaction.  You successfully narrowed the legal and factual issues and brought the parties together on evaluating a jury's potential visceral response.  Given the difficulty of our mediation, the number of parties involved, and the amount of money involved, I give you high marks.

I commend you on the outstanding job you have done mediating cases for our law firm.  Our law firm, as you know, ranks in the upper tier of attorneys who have obtained significant verdicts and settlements for victims of nursing home abuse and neglect.  We do this type of work all over the nation, and I personally have been doing it exclusively since 1999.

I was excited when I made your acquaintance several years ago.  Nursing home cases, as you know, are unique.  Nursing home cases do not fit within the mold of the standard medical malpractice case or any standard personal injury case.  I have been extremely frustrated over the years when I am with a mediator who does not understand how nursing home litigation works, nor who appreciates the extreme risks faced by a nursing home defendant in these cases.  Your experience as corporate counsel for one of the largest nursing home chains in the United States gives you an understanding of nursing home litigation and, more importantly, an appreciation for the dangers and risks to nursing home defendants in taking these cases to trial.

I have been very impressed with your intense level of preparation and understanding of the key issues in the cases.  This enables you to dispense with opening statements and presentations that historically do nothing but drive deeper divisions between the parties.  Rather than have the parties show their strengths of the case to the other side and risk inflaming someone and thereby reducing the chance of resolution, you are able to go to each side privately and discuss their strengths and their weaknesses in a candid fashion without pushing the parties farther apart.

Your years of experience have equipped you with a wealth of ideas and approaches that get cases settled.  You have mediated cases for our firm all over the United States, and we intend to call you for future mediations.

I agreed to use Mr. Strauss in large part based upon the recommendations of other plaintiffs' counsel.  It turned out to be a very wise decision.  Mr. Strauss managed to develop a very good relationship with my clients, and they trusted his analysis of the case.  He is particularly informed regarding the unique issues that apply to nursing home litigation, and I have never used a mediator that was more effective.… He truly works hard to resolve the case for a fair value from the perspective of both parties.  His ability to work well with my clients during our difficult mediation certainly prevented the whole thing from falling apart.  I seriously doubt that our case would have settled without the assistance of Mr. Strauss.