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schulwolfmediation
Most states have a legal doctrine that incentivizes primary insurers to accept settlement demands by saddling them with extra contractual liability if they unreasonably reject a within limits demand. In Texas, it is called a Stowers duty. Texas law on Stowers often focuses on the necessary elements to trigger the duty. For example, the settlement...
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The Supreme Court has only had seventeen men serve as Chief Justice. Chicago attorney Dan Cotter writes about all of them in The Chief Justices: The Seventeen Men of the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times. While legal theory instructs lawyers to analyze the law and not the circumstances surrounding its creation, Cotter embraces...
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Steve discusses all aspects of mediation with fellow mediator, Winter Wheeler. The two discuss their transitions from experienced litigators to full-time mediators, including their mediation philosophies and building their practices. The two discuss mediation via Zoom, anti-bias standards for mediators and the importance of language and its impact on the legal system, focusing on the...
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A bedrock principle for mediation is its confidentiality. Arguments made at mediation are typically not admissible in court. Nationally renowned mediator, Jeff Kichaven, has been virtually touring the country presenting a provocative theme: your mediation might not be confidential. Jeff explains that whether a mediation is confidential is determined by the court hearing an attack...
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Old school football fans often complain about celebrations after touchdowns grumbling “act like you have been there before.” The COVID-19 pandemic has altered how the legal system administers justice. Seasoned trial attorneys who are poised and confident in front of judges and jurors are learning how to present evidence via Zoom. Lawyers are forced to...
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Steve talks with the Honorable Bryan Chapman, 18th Judicial Circuit Dupage County, Illinois. Judge Chapman is one of the few judges nationally who has rendered a decision in an insurance coverage case for COVID-19 business losses and he discusses the urgency, significance and his approach for overseeing such a nationally prominent case. Judge Chapman discusses...
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In order to survive the deluge of data and myriad of decisions we make every day, humans adopt short-cuts, or heuristics. Unfortunately, we often rely on flawed biases and stereotypes resulting in poor decisions. In an effort to make sense of it all Steve sits down with Shari Belitz, founder of Shari Belitz Communications. The...
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Mediator Steve Schulwolf continues to delve into COVID-19’s impact on the legal profession. Episode 7 featured professor Julia Simon-Kerr and discussed how COVID-19 presents opportunities for the legal system to improve its assumptions about credibility and demeanor. In Episode 8: What’s Going on out There? Mr. Schulwolf talks with Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila’s Matt...
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The Insurance Law Section of the Texas Bar Published my article, “A Mediator’s Take on COVID-19: Part II.” In this follow-up article I summarize recent decisions from around the country dealing with insureds’ attempts to recover lost profits from their property insurers. Insurers have generally convinced courts that policyholders have failed to demonstrate that COVID-19...
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Mediator Steve Schulwolf and University of Connecticut School of Law professor Julia Simon-Kerr discuss the challenges and opportunities that COVID-19 presents the American legal system. As courts are preparing to reopen and conduct trials with COVID-19 protocols there is the need to balance safety and truth ascertaining considerations. Along these lines, Mr. Schulwolf asks the...
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About Schulwolf Mediation

Steve Schulwolf has over 25 years of experience as an attorney in high profile multi-million dollar cases. After running a law firm in Chicago and winning numerous cases throughout the country and also negotiating settlements on his clients’ behalf, Steve is now focusing on mediation. Schulwolf Mediation can assist you in resolving a wide array of disputes, including commercial & family law. Steve is willing to travel anywhere and considers Austin TX & Chicago IL to be his home base.