WELCOME TO REINHART MEDIATION, LLC
Your Professional Mediation Service
Reinhart Mediation, LLC is the vehicle through which veteran mediator Rob Reinhart is available to provide mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. Rob brings to such engagements his considerable experience as a mediator and as an advocate. (See details about his personal background on this web site, under “About Us.”) He now has fully ceased his law practice to focus his professional activity exclusively on neutral ADR activity. He is also available to assist courts as a neutral Special Master.
Mr. Reinhart has specific experience mediating individual and class and collective action lawsuits arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) presenting claims of exempt/non-exempt misclassification, faulty administration of overtime compensation, denial of rest periods and meal breaks, inadequate record-keeping, denial of equal pay for equal work and other wage & hour issues. He also brings to ADR engagements his considerable experience representing or working with both workers and employers to address disputes involving both individual and class action claims of race, sex, age, disability, religious, sexual orientation and other kinds of actionable discrimination, including claims of wrongful discharge, harassment, compensation and other on-the-job discrimination issues. He also has deep experience working with whistleblower, retaliation, disability leave (FMLA), breach of contract, defamation and other employment-related claims arising under federal and state statutes and the common law.
Employment controversies inevitably impose upon affected employees and company leaders extraordinary costs, not only of money but of time, distraction, uncertainty and personal stress. Increasingly, mediation proves to be the most effective strategy to achieve final solutions to these challenges. Mediation is an alternative to winning and losing. It provides a potential path to achieving a mutually acceptable agreement that both sides can have a hand in building and which helps everyone get on with their careers and personal lives.
Commercial Disputes
Mr. Reinhart also has experience, both as a mediator and as a trial lawyer, dealing with a wide variety of commercial contract disputes, both in and out of court. He welcomes the opportunity to serve as a mediator or in any other ADR role relative to such disputes as well.
ABOUT REINHART MEDIATION
Robert Reinhart is the principal of Reinhart Mediation, LLC. Rob served as a partner with Dorsey & Whitney, having worked in that role for more than 15 years as a trial lawyer specializing in Employment law. Prior to his work with Dorsey, Rob was associated with Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly for nearly 23 years in the same field; 18 as a partner.
Rob has served as mediator in over 250 controversies, over 90% of which have settled during or shortly following the mediation. Cases which Rob has mediated over the years include a number of FLSA class and collective actions involving overtime pay, rest and meal break, exemption classification, recod-keeping, tipping and other practices. He has also successfully mediated discrimination, wrongful discharge and other employment disputes, as well as trade secret, restrictive covenant and other commercial contract disputes.
Rob served Dorsey and Oppenheimer not only as a partner but also as Chair of their respective Labor & Employment practice groups. During his tenure with both firms, those groups experienced substantial growth and recognition. For decades, Rob was recognized as a “Super Lawyer” and as one of “America’s Best Lawyers.” Repeatedly, he has been identified more broadly as one of the “Top 100 Attorneys” in the State of Minnesota. In 1984, Rob was instrumental in founding the Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, an annual conference conducted under the auspices of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education arm. For over 35 years, Rob hosted that event, which regularly attracts over 1,500 attendees, features approximately 100 separate presentations and breakout sessions, and has become the largest program of its kind in the United States. In 1990, Rob organized the Minnesota Employment Law Council, an association of many of Minnesota’s largest employers, which serves as a responsible voice to the State legislature and courts conveying employers’ perspectives on key public policy issues involving employment law.
Rob has also been awarded by the Labor & Employment Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association its highest career achievement recognition, the Leonard Lindquist Distinguished Practice Award.
Although his experience as an advocate focused predominantly on representation of employers in employment disputes, Rob also brings to mediation engagements his significant experience successfully representing workers as well as representing both plaintiffs and defendants in breach of contract and other commercial lawsuits.
Perhaps most importantly, Rob brings to his service as a mediator his personal experience and commitment to listening well, to identifying fresh opportunities for conflict resolution clearly, to exploring possible solutions actively, to challenging viewpoints selectively, to guiding the parties’ own negotiations wisely, to working efficiently, to helping the parties prepare effectively and to assisting the documentation of agreements the parties are able to achieve. His conscious aim is to be neither a mere “message carrier,” nor overbearing. His work is marked by his patience, persistence and respect for all participants.
Rob has launched Reinhart Mediation, LLC because he enjoys leading mediation efforts. Ever since the federal judge for whom he first worked, as a law clerk, emphasized mediation in his own service, Rob has been a serious student of the negotiation process and the role of a mediator as a facilitator of that process. He enjoys meeting new people and helping them achieve resolution of all the vexations, distractions, anxieties and costs of prolonged dispute.
AREAS OF SERVICE
MEDIATION
Mediation is the featured service offered by Rob Reinhart through Reinhart Mediation, LLC. He is also available to serve as an arbitrator, a Special Master, or other neutral offering any alternative dispute resolution assistance to parties seeking to resolve any kind of employment or other commercial or personal injury dispute. Mediation and arbitration are two very different procedures. The differences can be confusing to people who are not lawyers. In mediation, any solution to the issues in dispute must come as a result of a settlement to which both (or all) sides agree. The mediator is simply a facilitator. In other words, the mediator can offer suggestions, but he has no power to force anyone to do anything. He cannot decide who wins or who loses. Mediation is a process of helping both sides find a solution which each can accept. Mediation, therefore, produces a result which necessarily involves compromise on both sides.
ARBITRATION
Arbitration is more like a lawsuit supervised by a privately selected judge, who does have power, eventually, to make decisions which bind all disputing parties. In some situations, arbitration can proceed more quickly than litigation in the courts, and sometimes it can offer opportunities for less cost than normal litigation. Although the parties must pay the arbitrator (while a judge is free, except for court filing fees and other costs), the arbitration process may involve less “discovery” (exchange of information before trial), a shorter trial, or other cost-saving advantages. But in the end, if the parties do not settle, an arbitrator, unlike a mediator, has power to make a final decision about who wins and who loses which is binding on everyone involved and which is very hard to appeal. Many lawyers express some degree of disappointment with the extent to which some mediators may tend toward being too passive. By this they mean that some mediators rather consistently defer to the parties to such an extent that early sharp disagreements tend to lead to premature discouragement and failure to achieve a settlement. Other times, some lawyers find that some mediators can be too quick to offer their own opinions of the case, much like a judge might do, which sometimes can make it harder to achieve settlement.
Rob Reinhart draws on his experience and temperament to identify opportunities to provide feedback to the negotiating parties; in other words, to serve as a sounding board. Part of the art of successful mediation is for the mediator to astutely know when it is best for him to play the “Devil’s Advocate” in order to help a given party to better understand the perspective of the rival party. The goal of the mediator in such situations is not to provoke anyone but rather simply to help both sides recognize and respect the vulnerabilities of their respective positions and the full ramifications of continuing to fight to assert those positions and to help them see the potential advantages to various possibilities of compromise.
Generally, disputing parties ultimately find the rewards of achieving a reasonable compromise settlement which they help shape are greater than the value of pursuing a “win” through the uncertainties, risks and costs of protracted conflict leading to a result dictated by someone else. Winning requires more than simply being “right” on the issues. It involves legal technicalities and the unpredictable attitudes of judges and juries, who bring to their decisions all their own human frailties, predispositions and attitudes. And sometimes a judge includes in his or her decision elements which may frustrate or disappoint even a party who has generally “won.” Invariably, successful mediation requires the parties to work hard: to be patient, to be open-minded, to listen carefully, and to be realistic about their options. By investing the time and effort required, they very often find an acceptable path to moving beyond the unproductive frustrations of the issues they face and to moving ahead with their lives in a healthy, satisfying fashion.
What is the difference between mediation and arbitration?
In a mediation, you cannot be bound to any obligation unless you voluntarily agree to the obligation. Mediation is simply a process to help you negotiate your own agreement. Unlike in arbitration, where the arbitrator has the power to decide a winner and a loser, in mediation the mediator merely listens and suggests solutions, but a binding resolution to the dispute can come only through a settlement to which both sides agree.
When is the best time to mediate?
The best timing depends on the attitude of the people trying to settle and their familiarity with the facts and law in dispute. The earlier a mutual settlement can be reached, the more each side potentially can save in costs and obligations to pay attorneys’ fees. However, sometimes people are too emotionally upset or lack sufficient insight into the feelings and position of the people on the other side to permit calm reasoning at the early stages of a particular dispute. As with any negotiation, sometimes the firm deadline of an impending court date is necessary to help the negotiating parties seriously consider the pros and cons of real compromise.
What are the chief advantages of mediation?
The biggest dividend of any mutually negotiated settlement is ending the costs, distractions, stress and uncertainty of prolonged conflict on terms which, although not as attractive as winning, are mutually acceptable. People generally find that a solution over which they have an equal say is preferable to running the risk that someone else (a judge or arbitrator or jury) imposes on them a seriously distasteful final result. Negotiating a mutually agreeable settlement with the assistance of a neutral mediator offers the advantages of less stressful discussions through that third party and the opportunity to listen to ideas suggested by someone experienced with helping people settle similar kinds of disputes in other situations.
Are there any disadvantages to mediating?
Most people have a very favorable reaction to the mediation process. It does involve a modest cost, to pay for the time and services of the mediator. And mediation is all about compromise and settlement. Thus, it does not offer the opportunity for vindication of your position. Mediation is not designed to declare a winner or a loser. For a mediation to end successfully, both (all, in the case of multiple party disputes) sides must find acceptable ways to compromise. The parties to a mediation also will have to own their settlement; they will not be able to blame the result on someone else.
How much will a mediation cost?
The cost depends on how much time the mediation takes. The mediator charges for his or her time by the hour. Rob Reinhart’s time is charged at the rate of $600 per hour. Time charges cover not only the time spent at mediation sessions but also time reviewing materials submitted by the parties summarizing their position, plus time discussing the case before, and sometimes after, the formal mediation itself. This fee must be paid even if no agreement is reached. Of course, the attorneys representing the negotiating parties may also charge for their own time, on whatever basis is agreed between them and their clients.
What rules apply in a mediation?
A mediation is quite informal. In most respects, the mediation is largely what you make of it. There are no formal rules of procedure or evidence. You do sign an agreement at the beginning to negotiate in good faith, not misrepresent facts and keep what happens during the mediation in strict confidence. Your own evaluation of your position will be guided by your attorney, who will advise you about the rules that will apply to a formal trial if you do not settle.
Can what I say in a mediation later be used against me?
To borrow from the famous travel advertisement for Las Vegas, “what happens in mediation stays in mediation,” unless you agree otherwise. All parties agree at the beginning that they will not try to use what is said or done in mediation at a later trial. Of course, you will be bound by any settlement or other agreement you make in the mediation.
Will the mediator treat what I say in private confidentially?
Yes, so long as you make clear what you want him to keep confidential. The mediator will talk privately and separately with each side during the course of the mediation. Part of his job is to help each side better understand the position of the other side as well as his sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s position. That naturally leads to sharing information provided by each side to the other. But the mediator will not share with the other side anything he learns from you which you ask to be kept confidential.