05-22-17 Informal - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Bauer stated, I have a lot of flexibility with my calendar. Any meetings the Council wants me to attend, I can do. Office hours can be considered. I don't mind coming up to South Bend. Councilmember Oliver Davis arrived to the meeting at 5:19 p.m. Mr. Bauer continued, I'm good with time management and will be able to do whatever the Council would ask of me. I would do my best. Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to Council members for any additional questions. Councilmember Broden asked, What could you bring as a sole practitioner to the Council that a firm could not? Also, what would be the back-up plan if you were not available? Ms. Bauer replied, Well hopefully that situation would never arise. I expect to be at every meeting that I am requested to be at. That's a good question regarding the differences between a law firm and a sole practitioner. When I was at the law firm in Fort Wayne, there was a time where we had thirty (3 0) to thirty-five (3 5) lawyers,many of which did municipal liability defense work. So anyone who was assigned to something,there was always someone else as the backup. We can't predict the future but as a sole practitioner, you will always be dealing with me. We will get to know each other,how we work together and I guarantee I will give one hundred and ten percent (110%) of my effort. This would become my top priority. I do have contact with the Fort Wayne City Attorney. She got me involved in the Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association a few years back. I do have resources and contacts that will be a good supplement to my work. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston asked, You had mentioned something about becoming a certified mediator in the State of Indiana, could you tell us a little bit more about what that means and how you might apply that in your practice? Ms. Bauer replied, Any lawyer can serve as mediator. Our judges in Indiana encourage people to resolve their case rather than going through the whole process that ends up in a trial. I think the statistic is approximately eighty-five to ninety percent(85%-90%) of cases end up being settled through mediation. To be a certified mediator in Indiana you have to take a week long seminar which I took last summer. Then you're on the certified mediator list in the State of Indiana. If someone is looking for a mediator in a particular county,they can look up that list and see what areas of practice that are offered. The training of mediating and the experience one gets develops a lot of skills that are not acquired elsewhere. It's just a different way of looking at problem solving through mediation. I don't know if you are ever in labor discussions with the Police or Fire Departments but that would come into play then. My skills could lend themselves to those types of areas. With no other questions from Councilmembers, Councilmember Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Ms. Bauer to the Council. Ms. Bauer asked, Since you had the same person for as long as you did,what do you envision the role of the attorney of the Council to be moving forward? 7