FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Story by Deepa Bharath, photo by [tk]

Dana Lee has always had a way with people. It helped the retired

nuclear physicist climb to upper management positions during his days in

the corporate world.

But now, the 64-year-old Corona del Mar resident spends a few hours

every week volunteering those same skills to help people resolve their

disputes.

Every Tuesday, Lee heads over to the Harbor Justice Center’s Small

Claims Court on behalf of Dispute Resolution Services, a local nonprofit

organization.

The goal of mediation, says Lee, is to help both parties come to an

agreement without having to fight it out in court.

“When a case goes to court, there’s a winner and a loser in the end,”

he said. “But with mediation, both parties walk out of there pretty happy

and satisfied.”

In his four years as a volunteer mediator, Lee has seen the gamut of

disputes and claims. He has settled landlord-tenant fights and calmed

down a customer who said the cleaners ruined his clothes.

“The strangest of them all was this case where someone had hired

another person to donate an egg for in vitro fertilization,” he said.

“And there was a dispute about payment for the egg.”

Although he declined to go into details, Lee said that case was

amicably resolved. About 75% of cases that go into mediation have a happy

ending, he said.

“Usually it’s up to both parties in dispute to decide whether they

want a mediator or not,” Lee explained.

The challenge with mediation is to maintain calm and composure in

situations that often get emotional, he said.

“Most people want to get something off their chest,” Lee said. “To let

things settle down, you need to let them vent but in a controlled way so

they don’t offend the other party. It is a challenge to tread that thin

line.”

Once the parties reach a consensus, the mediator writes up the terms

of the agreement, which is then submitted to the court for approval.

Mediators don’t need to have a legal background but usually take a

25-hour training program that basically tells them what they can and

cannot do.

“We’re not attorneys or judges or the jury,” he said. “Our job is not

to give legal advice, but to give suggestions that may help resolve the

issue.”