Superstar Mediators: Louis Tesser – Unmasked | Lawyers Without Billboards - Ep 20

Think mediators just pass notes between lawyers all day? Think again.

In this episode of Lawyers Without Billboards, legendary Atlanta mediator Louis Tesser joins the Shewmaker & Lewis team to pull back the curtain on what really goes down in a domestic mediation. From sausage-eating contests and Stanley Tucci impressions to emotional breakdowns and attorney egos, Louis shares the candid truth about the psychology, pressure, and performance art of high-stakes family law negotiation.

🎙️ Hosts: Steve Shewmaker, Patty Shewmaker, Jimmy Lewis, Alexa Lewis
 🦸 Guest: Louis Tesser, Mediator Extraordinaire (and possibly the Jewish Stanley Tucci)

👨‍⚖️ Hosted by Shewmaker & Lewis, Atlanta-based attorneys helping families navigate divorce, custody, and criminal defense – with zero billboards and zero BS.

🔍 You’ll learn:

• What really makes a good mediator (hint: it’s not neutrality)
• Why humor can make or break a mediation
• How emotional rollercoasters shape negotiation outcomes
• Why the best trial lawyers are often the best at settling cases
• What lawyers do that drive mediators crazy (and how to avoid it)

📌 Chapters:
 00:00 – Meet Louis: Mediator. Musician. Tucci Enthusiast.
 06:00 – From Litigator to Mediator: Why He Switched
 10:00 – The Long Day: How Mediation Really Works
 15:00 – What Makes a Lawyer Mediator-Friendly?
 18:00 – Real Talk: Are You Just Chasing a Pound of Flesh?
 22:00 – Emotions, Egos & the Wisdom Bubble
 28:00 – The “Super Officer” of the Court

👉 Have a question or topic idea? Visit shewmakerandlewis.com

🔗 Podcast Library: https://shewmakerandlewis.com/lawyers-without-billboards
🎧 Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more. Search Lawyers Without Billboards.
📺 Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5C_F77CB_qs

📩 Contact: pshewmaker@shewmakerandlewis.com
 🎼 Music by Ben Hernandez at Dragonsong Productions
 🎥 Produced by Rob Burgner at Bleeding Edge in Atlanta, GA

Transcript

 Audio file
Superhero Mediators - Louis Tesser.mp3
Transcript
00:00:09 Narrator
Well.
00:00:10 Narrator
To lawyers without billboards where we breakdown family law and other areas of the law, no gimmicks, no legal jargon, just real, unfiltered talk from real lawyers. Join your hosts, Steve, Patty, Jimmy and Alexa Partners at Shoemaker and Lewis, a law firm based in Atlanta, GA.
00:00:29 Narrator
Every episode they tackle the legal questions that matter most. Divorce, custody, child support, alimony, and everything in between.
00:00:38 Narrator
They'll pull back the curtain to give you real insights on what happens inside the courtroom and beyond.
00:00:43 Steve Shewmaker
All right. Hey, what's up, everybody? We are back. Shoemaker and Lewis. Lawyers without billboards. Alexa, we still don't have a billboard.
00:00:50 Steve Shewmaker
Do we?
00:00:50 Alexa Lewis
No, we still.
00:00:51 Alexa Lewis
Don't.
00:00:51 Steve Shewmaker
Alright, I'm happy to.
00:00:52 Patty Shewmaker
And we're.
00:00:52 Steve Shewmaker
Say it.
00:00:53 Alexa Lewis
Not we're not planning on it.
00:00:54 Steve Shewmaker
That's right. And the wonderful music and the lead in is still from Ben Hernandez and Dragon.
00:00:58 Steve Shewmaker
Productions.
00:00:59 Steve Shewmaker
Everything else about the podcast is still Rob Burgner and Bleeding Edge technologies or production.
00:01:05 Alexa Lewis
You still still is and always will.
00:01:06 Patty Shewmaker
Be and you changed your name every time, isn't it? Isn't it bleeding Edge TV?
00:01:08 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, what is?
00:01:10
Bleeding edge.
00:01:12 Steve Shewmaker
Just bleeding Edge, but anyway, the topic of today is not bleeding Edge and rob the topic of today is the human interest story. We did a basic.
00:01:20 Alexa Lewis
Human. Human. Just.
00:01:23 Steve Shewmaker
 you can all kiss my ****.
00:01:25 Steve Shewmaker
OK.
00:01:25 Steve Shewmaker
OK. The back in back in episode 14, we talked about the basics, the rudiments of mediation, which is such an important and important, excuse me, an important such an important topic in domestic and family law.
00:01:26 Alexa Lewis
I'd prefer not to.
00:01:35 Alexa Lewis
It's.
00:01:38 Patty Shewmaker
If you combine the words, the podcast is.
00:01:41 Alexa Lewis
Shorter. Ohh good. Good point. Good point, less words.
00:01:42 Louis Tesser 
Oh, OK.
00:01:45 Steve Shewmaker
As I was saying, episode 14 was the basics, the rudiments of mediation, which is such an important topic in domestic law that we're going to do a series of guest spots. This is the first one.
00:01:58 Steve Shewmaker
A series of guest spots on famous world famous superhero mediators. So today we have our second live witness ever. Follow that he follows the great.
00:02:08 Patty Shewmaker
And our first superhero.
00:02:13 Alexa Lewis
Mediator.
00:02:14 Steve Shewmaker
Right. Are you a superhero today? Are you a marvel or a Disney superhero?
00:02:18 Louis Tesser 
I'm known throughout.
00:02:19 Alexa Lewis
Marvel or DC?
00:02:21 Louis Tesser 
I'm known throughout humanity as really the best mediator in Georgia. That's what my mom tells me.
00:02:27 Steve Shewmaker
OK, well, let's, let's stop there. This is Lewis tesser.
00:02:33 Steve Shewmaker
And Lewis is a mediator extraordinaire here in the Atlanta metro area, who I've known for quite a while. I refer to him as the Jewish Stanley Tucci. So which is a great compliment actually, but I.
00:02:37 Alexa Lewis
I knew it. I knew.
00:02:38 Alexa Lewis
It's where you're going.
00:02:44 Alexa Lewis
I've heard I have actually heard you say that.
00:02:48 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah, we all very much Stanley Tucci, correct.
00:02:51 Steve Shewmaker
Oh, hell yeah. I'm not talking about .
00:02:51 Louis Tesser 
OK.
00:02:53 Steve Shewmaker
Hunger Games, I'm talking.
00:02:53 Louis Tesser 
We'll just go with that, I.
00:02:55 Steve Shewmaker
 the Pelican brief, Stanley Tucci Devil Wears Prada, the Devil wears Prada? Absolutely. That's a good Stanley Tucci. OK, no, the lovely bones, that's.
00:02:57 Alexa Lewis
OK, OK. That too. Yeah, alright, alright.
00:03:03 Louis Tesser 
Not not so much the Pope.
00:03:06 Steve Shewmaker
A bad Stanley.
00:03:07 Alexa Lewis
Oh, that's the worst sandwich, yeah.
00:03:09 Patty Shewmaker
God, we don't creepy, no?
00:03:11 Louis Tesser 
Need to know more about my namesake? Really. I haven't seen most of these.
00:03:11 Alexa Lewis
Don't be creepy. Don't be. Yeah, don't. Don't be creepy, Louis.
00:03:15 Louis Tesser 
Try trying.
00:03:16 Steve Shewmaker
Louis, you need to not be creepy, but you also need to see more Stanley Tucci movies. But in any event, Lewis test, let's get to know.
00:03:19 Alexa Lewis
Correct, it's true.
00:03:22 Steve Shewmaker
You better. What's your?
00:03:23 Steve Shewmaker
Favorite word?
00:03:24 Louis Tesser 
My favorite word.
00:03:26 Louis Tesser 
I I think it just became humanity, but .
00:03:28 Steve Shewmaker
You mean?
00:03:31 Steve Shewmaker
I it. What's your? Can you spell it? No, don't, don't. Don't hurt yourself. Which which? Lewis testers. Favorite food.
00:03:31 Louis Tesser 
I'm I'm open to sort of supercalifragilistic.
00:03:34 Louis Tesser 
Or whatever, right?
00:03:35
Yeah.
00:03:36 Louis Tesser 
Yeah. There you go. I.
00:03:36 Louis Tesser 
Mean I I can spell my version.
00:03:40 Alexa Lewis
 there you.
00:03:41 Alexa Lewis
Go. Yeah.
00:03:45 Louis Tesser 
, I guess it would involve Pestel or something. I don't I don't.
00:03:48 Alexa Lewis
OK.
00:03:48 Louis Tesser 
Really I have.
00:03:49 Louis Tesser 
A I don't have a well developed personality.
00:03:50 Patty Shewmaker
It's so random.
00:03:51 Steve Shewmaker
It involves.
00:03:51 Alexa Lewis
Or palette you mean?
00:03:53 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:03:53 Louis Tesser 
Yeah. Well, it's it's so well developed, yeah.
00:03:54 Alexa Lewis
So this doesn't have a well developed personality.
00:03:57 Steve Shewmaker
OK, let's try again. When you wake up, on a Wednesday and you feel a man. What's your favorite food other than pesto? There you go.
00:03:57 Louis Tesser 
It's so well developed that.
00:03:59 Louis Tesser 
, I can't just give you simple things.
00:04:01 Louis Tesser 
Yes.
00:04:03 Louis Tesser 
When I feel a man, I feel this is leading me down a bad path I.
00:04:08 Alexa Lewis
I just to say stay, yeah.
00:04:08 Steve Shewmaker
You and I didn't. You and I have an Italian sausage eating contest at your house 1.
00:04:11
Wow.
00:04:12 Steve Shewmaker
Time.
00:04:13 Louis Tesser 
Not not that.
00:04:14 Steve Shewmaker
Out of the out of the grill, once you, once you grilling Italian sausage, there you go.
00:04:15 Alexa Lewis
Different guy? Yes, that's true.
00:04:19 Steve Shewmaker
Right here, , Oh yeah, cause we ate them all. Maybe. OK.
00:04:20 Louis Tesser 
Remember that being a contest.
00:04:22 Patty Shewmaker
That was Stanley's house.
00:04:24 Steve Shewmaker
Alright, what's your?
00:04:24 Alexa Lewis
Hey, I'm kind of glad we missed.
00:04:25 Alexa Lewis
That contest easy.
00:04:26 Louis Tesser 
That's that was when I was Stanley Tucci. .
00:04:27 Steve Shewmaker
OK, what? What is Lewis testers favorite movie?
00:04:31 Louis Tesser 
, have you seen Rushmore? That used to be. I used to say that was my favorite movie. Now that is a Wes Anderson film.
00:04:37 Alexa Lewis
I got nothing.
00:04:38 Louis Tesser 
And that is.
00:04:40 Louis Tesser 
A whole genre.
00:04:41 Louis Tesser 
OK, but that's that's what I used to say I.
00:04:42 Steve Shewmaker
That's.
00:04:42 Alexa Lewis
It, but that's where you used to say, what do you say now?
00:04:45 Louis Tesser 
I now say I'm not.
00:04:46 Louis Tesser 
Really. Sure.
00:04:47 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:04:47 Steve Shewmaker
What is Louis to switching gears? What is Lewis?
00:04:49 Steve Shewmaker
Tessa's favorite song?
00:04:52 Louis Tesser 
Ah, I do not even know, .
00:04:54 Alexa Lewis
Is this the first date?
00:04:55 Alexa Lewis
What this could be?
00:04:56 Patty Shewmaker
And it kind of shows a first date.
00:04:58 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, we should probably just go, .
00:05:01 Louis Tesser 
Towns van Sant. Something by him. I I love him. He's great.
00:05:04 Steve Shewmaker
OK.
00:05:05 Steve Shewmaker
Does Lewis Tesser play any musical?
00:05:07 Steve Shewmaker
Instruments.
00:05:08 Louis Tesser 
He does.
00:05:08 Steve Shewmaker
What does Lewis test for?
00:05:10
Boy.
00:05:12 Louis Tesser 
Let's make this into it. Full blown. Cross examination. Yeah. So, , I play acoustic guitar with your man Dragon song there. Yeah, yeah.
00:05:14 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, boy.
00:05:19 Steve Shewmaker
Ben Hernandez. Yeah, yeah, I know it. But other people don't know that. OK, how about this? When did you? I don't think so.
00:05:23 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, yeah. Not everybody knows that.
00:05:27 Steve Shewmaker
Now I first met you when you were, when you were a partner at the firm of Kessler Schwartz and Soleimani.
00:05:29 Louis Tesser 
Learning much.
00:05:35 Louis Tesser 
Yes. Or perhaps at that point it was already Kessler sold me on.
00:05:37 Louis Tesser 
It yes, OK.
00:05:38 Steve Shewmaker
No, it was before that. I I remember that precipitating event, that drama, but I'm trying to remember. It was about 18 years ago that we first met maybe.
00:05:39 Louis Tesser 
OK, it's been a minute.
00:05:42 Louis Tesser 
Yes.
00:05:45 Steve Shewmaker
Tony.
00:05:46 Louis Tesser 
That's plausible. I think that sounds about right.
00:05:47 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah, you were the and you and I would say you were the coolest dude at that firm because I called down there and I get people going and then and then you get on the.
00:05:53
Wait, wait a minute.
00:05:54 Steve Shewmaker
Phone and be what's up, dude?
00:05:59 Steve Shewmaker
It's what can I do to make your life easier? OK.
00:06:01 Alexa Lewis
Is Lewis your second longest relationship?
00:06:04 Patty Shewmaker
I think so, yeah.
00:06:06 Steve Shewmaker
So, but you broke free of that and now you mediate, right?
00:06:07 Louis Tesser 
, right. , , lawyers that eventually become mediators.
00:06:12 Steve Shewmaker
Hmm.
00:06:13 Louis Tesser 
It's probably a little bit of a mellower group of people, I would say no.
00:06:17 Steve Shewmaker
You are mellow, but but in your time, you've litigated.
00:06:20 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:06:21 Steve Shewmaker
You've done criminal defense.
00:06:22 Louis Tesser 
I have done a certain amount of that.
00:06:24 Steve Shewmaker
And you've done jury trials in both criminal and domestic big time. So you're a high-powered litigator.
00:06:27 Louis Tesser 
That is true. That is true.
00:06:30 Louis Tesser 
Well, I I will take that. , I I'll tell you this, Steve as I mediate.
00:06:35 Steve Shewmaker
Hmm.
00:06:37 Louis Tesser 
, I notice that there is a broad range of quality of attorneys, OK. And I will notice that a lot of the attorneys I work with just do a better job than I used to do in my opinion. , I've sort of, I'm occasionally very impressed with.
00:06:41 Steve Shewmaker
Mm-hmm.
00:06:51 Steve Shewmaker
I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for a judge to say that same thing. Well, let me, let me say this before we before we get off.
00:06:55
.
00:06:55
Right, right.
00:06:59 Steve Shewmaker
Off too deeply into the topic because I want to keep your *** out of trouble. I believe you're married to a wonderful lady. Much smarter than you.
00:07:03 Louis Tesser 
Thank you.
00:07:06 Louis Tesser 
I yes.
00:07:08 Alexa Lewis
Good answer.
00:07:08 Patty Shewmaker
Translate.
00:07:10 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, I am.
00:07:10 Steve Shewmaker
Miss Lily.
00:07:11 Louis Tesser 
She's an engineer, .
00:07:12 Steve Shewmaker
That's right. An engineer from Uzbekistan. So she speaks Russian, Uzbek English.
00:07:14 Louis Tesser 
That's correct. Or, , she was, yes.
00:07:19 Louis Tesser 
She speaks Russian. It's really, , without making this into a political thing. , she's from the Soviet Union. There was essentially a Russian colony in this in this.
00:07:21 Steve Shewmaker
MHM.
00:07:30
Mm-hmm.
00:07:30 Louis Tesser 
Country.
00:07:31 Louis Tesser 
So that's sort of.
00:07:33 Louis Tesser 
The truth of.
00:07:34 Alexa Lewis
It she's a cool lady, I.
00:07:36 Alexa Lewis
 her, thank you. And y'all have children.
00:07:42 Louis Tesser 
We have children. We have 3 girls.
00:07:46 Louis Tesser 
All that.
00:07:48 Louis Tesser 
With all that implies.
00:07:50 Steve Shewmaker
So you are a worldly man. You've got all kinds of things going on, but you are a mediator. So let's switch gears and talk about that. So what made you decide? Hell, I'm just going to mediate from.
00:07:56 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, let's do that.
00:08:01 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, Steve. So there was a long period of my litigation oral history where I sort of felt people that mediate kind of couldn't hack it as litigators, , I just sort of felt , , I had my law degree, and I was, I was getting paid these bucks, and I was advocating for.
00:08:21 Louis Tesser 
People, and I'm kind of coming in, I'm taking this position, , and Patty, go tell them this is my position and go negotiate with these other people. I'm a honcho. You're kind of the message taker or something that. I felt , , mediation was, , not that cool.
00:08:38 Louis Tesser 
Thing, but , you litigate for a while, you kind of figure out that person is actually pretty.
00:08:46 Louis Tesser 
They have an interesting niche in the middle of that.
00:08:48 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah. And they work hard. There's Meyers. Work hard.
00:08:49 Louis Tesser 
And you work hard.
00:08:52 Louis Tesser 
It's a it's a long, hard.
00:08:53 Louis Tesser 
Day of work it is for sure.
00:08:54 Alexa Lewis
What I was.
00:08:54 Alexa Lewis
Going to say, and especially Louis, because as chill as he may be sometimes if you start really getting into a mediation, he comes back in the room and he's really pushing hard. He's , but I swear I'm doing this in the other room as well. So , don't don't get mad at me, don't take it personal. I know, I know Lewis, your job.
00:09:06 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:09:09
You.
00:09:13 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah. Would you say how many days a week would?
00:09:13
Yeah.
00:09:14 Steve Shewmaker
You say you mediate.
00:09:16 Louis Tesser 
Well, I will say it's it's always too little or too much. what because because because the way it works is either I'm working on a given day or I'm not. I don't have other stuff to do. So , this last week was 4 mediations and I.
00:09:22 Alexa Lewis
Fair, fair.
00:09:28 Steve Shewmaker
Right.
00:09:36 Louis Tesser 
? Yeah. And, , I had Friday and I didn't have anything on Friday. And I was sort of .
00:09:36 Alexa Lewis
That's a lot. That's a lot.
00:09:43 Steve Shewmaker
Other weeks. If mediations fall through, do you , go see a double feature and then you come home at 5:00 and you're , oh, , I've been out all day. Where's dinner, Lily?
00:09:43 Alexa Lewis
Yes.
00:09:51 Louis Tesser 
, right. Ohh yeah, I just use it to yell at my.
00:09:54 Louis Tesser 
Wife, .
00:09:57 Steve Shewmaker
Well, no. But in all seriousness, as we talked about in episode 14, , mediation is a vital part of the process. The courts rely on mediation. So.
00:09:57
The.
00:10:05 Patty Shewmaker
It's a good it's a good it's a.
00:10:07 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:10:07 Patty Shewmaker
Good Ave. or good approach to reach resolution short of going to a judge and you have control over the outcome? Yeah. But I wanna. I wanna. I wanna go back because I wanna talk about this.
00:10:12 Louis Tesser 
Absolutely.
00:10:18 Patty Shewmaker
Because.
00:10:19 Patty Shewmaker
, Steve, you're a mediator, Alexa and I, we are not. So we are we are just litigants.
00:10:25 Steve Shewmaker
I'm not as good as.
00:10:26 Alexa Lewis
Litigators, we're not. Litigate litigators. We're not.
00:10:26 Steve Shewmaker
Louis, though.
00:10:27 Steve Shewmaker
I'm not as.
00:10:28 Steve Shewmaker
Good as Louis.
00:10:30
We'll go with that.
00:10:31 Patty Shewmaker
So so , when we go to mediation and we're representing our client mediation for us it kind of ebbs and flows the day does.
00:10:36 Patty Shewmaker
The.
00:10:40
MHM.
00:10:40 Patty Shewmaker
Because the mediator will be in our room and we'll do a, we'll be talking a lot. We'll be doing a lot of work and work and work and work and the mediator will leave.
00:10:47 Patty Shewmaker
And we might still do a little bit more work to talk about what we might come back with next and then we have downtime, right? And then we're telling stories, making jokes, , getting some coffee, doing that. But contrast that with the mediator who's on the entire time.
00:11:04 Alexa Lewis
All day.
00:11:07 Steve Shewmaker
Yes.
00:11:08 Patty Shewmaker
And I think Lewis wasn't. Weren't you meeting a case where I was a guardian of Lida?
00:11:13 Louis Tesser 
Alright.
00:11:13 Patty Shewmaker
A few weeks ago and and I got to kind of see this up close because as a guardian I was traveling with the mediator during the mediation. In this custody case.
00:11:24 Patty Shewmaker
Place and I was , this is exhausting. I want. I need a break. Louis, you go. Because it really is the mediators. Really do. They're working hard and you just you don't necessarily see that because we get downtime.
00:11:31
Yeah.
00:11:35 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:11:37 Alexa Lewis
Mm-hmm.
00:11:39 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, we see half.
00:11:40 Steve Shewmaker
So the the benefit that you have as a mediator is it's 9:00 in the morning. You start in mediation, except in those rare cases where the mediation may go into a second or third day, which does happen, but it's not common except in those cases, , come 5:00 or 6:00 that night, you're out of the case. You don't have to do a long laundry list of things you have to do, a litigator.
00:11:40 Alexa Lewis
Of it, yeah.
00:11:51 Louis Tesser 
Sure.
00:11:56
Right.
00:12:00 Steve Shewmaker
Has to do if mediation fails.
00:12:01
Hello.
00:12:02 Steve Shewmaker
That's a benefit to you, but the burden for you is that you're on the full day and in, in some cases 4.
00:12:07 Steve Shewmaker
Out of five days of the week, right?
00:12:09 Louis Tesser 
That is correct. That is correct, .
00:12:11 Steve Shewmaker
How do you cope, man? Drugs. Alcohol. What?
00:12:13 Patty Shewmaker
Do you do amphetamines?
00:12:14 Louis Tesser 
, I I'm not going to give away the the secrets.
00:12:17 Steve Shewmaker
Of the trolls.
00:12:18 Patty Shewmaker
Now going to tell us the secret sauce.
00:12:19 Louis Tesser 
But it's there's a lot of chemistry involved, no?
00:12:21 Alexa Lewis
They'll make it for you.
00:12:22 Steve Shewmaker
A lot of chemistry is wrong.
00:12:23 Louis Tesser 
There's no Kevin you.
00:12:23 Louis Tesser 
Know look, I enjoy.
00:12:24 Louis Tesser 
It.
00:12:25 Louis Tesser 
I will say that there are.
00:12:26 Louis Tesser 
Sort of phases to.
00:12:28 Louis Tesser 
I I think.
00:12:29 Louis Tesser 
It it always sort of starts out, , each party just sort of has.
00:12:33 Louis Tesser 
Their.
00:12:34 Louis Tesser 
Somewhat delusional concept of what's going on, , right, it's just, , boy, you're going to be right at the other side. And I'm representing pure good over here. And , it usually takes a while, but it's just.
00:12:36 Alexa Lewis
Hi there this guy.
00:12:48 Louis Tesser 
That's sort of a nice conversation. That's. That's how it starts, , and everybody's kind of happy with themselves and they sort of feel confident that, yeah, , that's this is the way we see it and it's very.
00:12:52 Narrator
Sure.
00:12:54 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:12:57
Deep.
00:12:58 Louis Tesser 
Possible.
00:12:58 Steve Shewmaker
Well, now you're an older mediator. You're not. No, I don't. I don't. I don't. OK, OK, everybody. I don't think everybody knows this. What is your birthday?
00:13:02 Alexa Lewis
Really.
00:13:06 Louis Tesser 
Well, September 20th.
00:13:08 Steve Shewmaker
Of 1968, which means you and I are within 30 days we're in the same time. So. So when I'm talking to you, I'm basically talking to myself. So the only one is yes. Originally the bottom line is the bottom line is that you are you're a mediator and you work with a lot of different types of attorneys.
00:13:09 Louis Tesser 
That is correct.
00:13:12 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Generationally. Yeah, yeah.
00:13:27 Steve Shewmaker
And you've been doing this for a number of years, so you've got some some experience under.
00:13:30 Steve Shewmaker
Your belt. What are the?
00:13:30 Louis Tesser 
That is now true, yeah.
00:13:32 Steve Shewmaker
Hallmarks when you show up in a mediation at 9:00 in the morning. What are the hallmarks to you without naming any names? That this is a low rent mediation? I'm not talk about the parties. I'm talking about the attorneys. The attorneys aren't sophisticated.
00:13:41 Narrator
Oh.
00:13:44 Narrator
Awesome.
00:13:47 Steve Shewmaker
Or or haven't prepared.
00:13:48 Steve Shewmaker
Good for this. And now your day is going to be harder because they haven't done diddly to to to prepare for this. What are the hallmarks to you when you walk in? What are the telltale signs? Because I want attorneys to hear. I want attorneys to. I want attorneys to hear this and go. I'm not going to be that guy.
00:13:53 Louis Tesser 
Well.
00:13:57 Louis Tesser 
This is.
00:13:58 Alexa Lewis
This is no no coffee.
00:14:00 Alexa Lewis
Yeah. No coffee. No lunch.
00:14:02 Patty Shewmaker
Right. I I need to be.
00:14:04 Louis Tesser 
Better. Yeah. Well, , again, I am usually very impressed with the lawyers. I'm. I'm I'm. , I I'm impressed with the the abilities and how hard they're working.
00:14:06 Steve Shewmaker
Tell us without names.
00:14:14 Patty Shewmaker
I know.
00:14:17 Louis Tesser 
All that good stuff, but but , and listen, I think it's true of.
00:14:23 Louis Tesser 
Almost every mediation I've ever been in to some extent, which is financial ambiguity, let's call it .
00:14:28 Alexa Lewis
Sure.
00:14:30 Louis Tesser 
There are accounts I know he has and we've never seen them. , of course. , there are lawyers that sort of.
00:14:39 Louis Tesser 
It's just Wednesday. That's just what?
00:14:40 Alexa Lewis
That's right. That's annoying, Sir. Yeah.
00:14:41 Louis Tesser 
They do. They don't really care to figure those.
00:14:43 Louis Tesser 
Things out ahead.
00:14:44 Louis Tesser 
Of time. Yeah, ? But. But I think the best lawyers usually come into it kind of going.
00:14:49 Louis Tesser 
.
00:14:50 Louis Tesser 
We are still lacking some account statements. , we still haven't gotten the discovery that we need. So that's that's that's sort of just part of.
00:14:59 Louis Tesser 
Almost my life is sort of.
00:15:00 Steve Shewmaker
Mm-hmm.
00:15:02 Louis Tesser 
What do I need to?
00:15:03 Steve Shewmaker
Let's talk about your let's talk about your pet peeves because you're not a judge as a mediator, and judges have their pet peeves. But as a mediator, you have to have some pet peeves. What are?
00:15:03 Louis Tesser 
Demand from the other side.
00:15:06 Louis Tesser 
Right, right.
00:15:10 Steve Shewmaker
Your pet peeves when you come into mediation.
00:15:12 Patty Shewmaker
And it can be with.
00:15:13 Narrator
The parties or.
00:15:13 Louis Tesser 
? Yeah, , , I will say that has probably evolved over time. So when you start as a mediator, you're sort of going, what's my win rate? , I want to, I'd to say that I solved every mediation, this all four of them. I think I did 2 this week.
00:15:13 Patty Shewmaker
With the attorneys.
00:15:19 Steve Shewmaker
MHM.
00:15:31 Narrator
That's.
00:15:33 Louis Tesser 
And if I if I sort of name names, , these are tough mediations. These are tough mediations. So there was probably a point in my career where I was sort of , , we didn't resolve it and that's because.
00:15:45 Louis Tesser 
The lawyers just wouldn't let me, what?
00:15:48 Louis Tesser 
Cool, cool day law. I don't I I really. My job is not to resolve the case for you. My job is to put on the table. What might be the resolution? , you present that to you. And if you want.
00:15:59 Patty Shewmaker
Give us give us the opportunity.
00:16:01 Louis Tesser 
To take it.
00:16:02 Louis Tesser 
By all means, but if you don't, and , and I and I'm not gonna name names. But I will say I had one with Jimmy.
00:16:02 Alexa Lewis
Great.
00:16:04 Alexa Lewis
OK.
00:16:09 Louis Tesser 
Where I felt he was my guy in the sense that.
00:16:13 Louis Tesser 
He waited. He considered it. He got his client to compromise, and the guy on the other side. And again, I'm not going to name names, but.
00:16:20 Alexa Lewis
Hmm.
00:16:20 Louis Tesser 
Boy.
00:16:22 Louis Tesser 
It was just kind of .
00:16:23 Louis Tesser 
Well, this is the.
00:16:24 Louis Tesser 
Deal. And it's as good as it's absolutely going to get, , will you do that? So at some point in my career, that would have been a bigger pet peeve to.
00:16:31 Louis Tesser 
Me, but I also kind of feel .
00:16:33
.
00:16:33 Louis Tesser 
It's it's your, it's your, it's your life.
00:16:34 Steve Shewmaker
So you're telling me you're becoming more? You're becoming more mellow, not more demanding of attorneys and people.
00:16:41 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, I I.
00:16:41 Louis Tesser 
Don't. I don't think it's imperative that you settle your case. , I think it's. I think it's.
00:16:45
Yeah, yeah.
00:16:48 Patty Shewmaker
You can bring a horse to water, but you can't.
00:16:50 Patty Shewmaker
Make it drink.
00:16:50 Louis Tesser 
Absolutely, absolutely. , so I I think it would be sad.
00:16:54 Louis Tesser 
You don't try to get there. , if you don't present something that the other guys really have to think.
00:16:59 Louis Tesser 
About.
00:16:59 Steve Shewmaker
Sure. Well, let me ask you this. The Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution kind of the Death Star for all the mediators out you. They basically want a mediator you to be a trained monkey to just communicate offers back and forth and nothing more. I've been saying for years, even before I became a mediator myself that.
00:17:06 Louis Tesser 
OK.
00:17:10 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:17:15 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:17:19 Steve Shewmaker
I don't want a mediator who's going to be the opposite of what GDR says you're supposed to be. I want a mediator who's going to say.
00:17:24 Steve Shewmaker
OK, your position is too rich. It's how you going to prove that you can't prove that up and, oh, by the way, the highest order you're going in front of judge so and so you got Judge Lyles coming in today. You're going in front of Judge Lyles, Judge Benton or Judge Zahn. And I know that judge personally, and that ain't going to work for that judge. So it's time to change your course.
00:17:30
MHM.
00:17:45 Steve Shewmaker
Geo Dr. doesn't want mediators to do that. How do you feel about that?
00:17:48 Louis Tesser 
. Yeah, I I don't.
00:17:51 Louis Tesser 
I think you're sort of right that you can kind of have a take of this that is 1 where you're not supposed to evaluate anything and you're not supposed to say what the judge might do or you're not supposed to.
00:18:03 Louis Tesser 
Really give anybody the benefit of your experience. , I kind of come into this. , I'm just doing it for 20 years. I have a vague concept of what might.
00:18:11 Louis Tesser 
Happen well, but.
00:18:12 Alexa Lewis
Maybe just a little.
00:18:13 Alexa Lewis
Bit.
00:18:13 Louis Tesser 
Also, I do want to be a.
00:18:14 Louis Tesser 
Little I.
00:18:15 Louis Tesser 
Know I'm sounding incredibly sarcastic. I really do believe that I don't have the ability to just predict what judges do. Yeah, yeah.
00:18:21 Alexa Lewis
For sure, none of them do.
00:18:24 Patty Shewmaker
Or some positions and I'm sure you see it as a mediator. There's some positions that are just so ridiculous and they will come.
00:18:29 Patty Shewmaker
Into mediation with you.
00:18:30 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, and I and I think there's a certain mentality out there that look, I don't want to litigate. So I'm just going to mediate the case. I don't have to be kind of good at litigation to.
00:18:44 Louis Tesser 
88 they'll tell you this. I think that the best trial lawyers are the best mediating lawyers. They'll swing a deal because they will think on their feet and they will go. , Patty, you came in kind of saying this is this is your case. But as we're looking at it, I think we're both discovering that's not your strongest thing. But can you shift to this?
00:18:48 Alexa Lewis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:18:54 Alexa Lewis
Sure. Yeah.
00:19:05 Louis Tesser 
 the good ones? Yeah. Yeah, I can shift, I can shift, and I can sort of rethink things a little bit. And now I see what the true target is. Now I see what a true good deal would be.
00:19:07
MHM.
00:19:15 Steve Shewmaker
What about humor? Do you use?
00:19:18 Louis Tesser 
I dislike humor.
00:19:19 Steve Shewmaker
Really too long.
00:19:20 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah. No, I'm. I'm trying to be so.
00:19:25 Louis Tesser 
I'm trying to be funny.
00:19:26 Steve Shewmaker
And and we'll try harder. Try harder. Not too long ago. Not too long ago, you mediated a case for Tuscan Fairfield works in my office. And I came in and kind of.
00:19:28 Alexa Lewis
Picking up what you're putting down.
00:19:29 Alexa Lewis
Patty and I got it.
00:19:34 Louis Tesser 
Yes.
00:19:37 Steve Shewmaker
Gave a a triage real quick and the guy was , well this and that and that. And I was , yeah, but you need to give her more of what she wants. He's , why? And I said because she had.
00:19:38
Yeah.
00:19:40
Whoa.
00:19:47 Steve Shewmaker
To see you naked.
00:19:49 Steve Shewmaker
You remember that and he kind of looked at me and goes. Yeah, OK.
00:19:55 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:19:57 Louis Tesser 
Yeah. I I I think that.
00:19:59 Patty Shewmaker
I'm sure you got.
00:20:00 Patty Shewmaker
To read the room with humor.
00:20:02 Louis Tesser 
Absolutely. Absolutely. , , people are crying, , go, , ha ha ha. , there's there's a there's a moment for everything. Yeah, there's a certain amount of crime that goes.
00:20:05
Yeah.
00:20:07 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah, don't, don't, don't.
00:20:09 Patty Shewmaker
Make a joke when they're.
00:20:09 Patty Shewmaker
Crying.
00:20:12 Alexa Lewis
On and. And that's sometimes, yeah.
00:20:13 Patty Shewmaker
And that's a great point and I'm sure.
00:20:15 Patty Shewmaker
That you see it.
00:20:15 Alexa Lewis
And that's just the lawyer.
00:20:16
Right.
00:20:16 Patty Shewmaker
I'm sure you see it more than we do, as the litigators, the emotional roller coaster just during the day of mediation, .
00:20:25 Louis Tesser 
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, .
00:20:26 Patty Shewmaker
Talk about that.
00:20:30 Louis Tesser 
I say I work hard at a mediation and I do. , I work hard and my brain is working and I'm I'm talking to people and I'm trying to get something going and I'm trying to get them to understand what maybe I think would be a decent, , way to proceed but.
00:20:33 Patty Shewmaker
Oh yeah, I saw it. Yeah.
00:20:35 Alexa Lewis
He pushes, yeah.
00:20:44 Louis Tesser 
Boy, , , you come in, you your kid is at stake in some way, maybe, maybe in an exaggerated way in your head. , , if you don't get Fridays, then you don't have a relationship with your kid anymore. , there's sort of weird thinking that you encounter.
00:20:48
Yeah.
00:20:53 Patty Shewmaker
Sure.
00:20:58
Ohh sure.
00:21:00 Louis Tesser 
But oh, to go through this day and to maybe have somebody 50 yards sitting 50 yards from you with some lawyer that's there to attack you and you are just fighting for what you think is your life. And then you're sort of surrendering these positions. , all that ever happens in mediation is you're backing off of something that you think you're entitled to. That's.
00:21:15 Alexa Lewis
MHM.
00:21:21 Louis Tesser 
All you're doing.
00:21:22 Louis Tesser 
All day. , that's just reality.
00:21:24 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah. And you see and you see clients, they come in, they come in the beginning of the day, they're fresh, they're optimistic, they're they're full of hope. , we're going to get this done. We're going to resolve this. And then as the day goes on, , they might be crying. , sometimes you probably don't see this as much when we see it, because when you're in the other room.
00:21:25 Alexa Lewis
Yeah.
00:21:34 Alexa Lewis
Mm-hmm.
00:21:38 Alexa Lewis
****** ***.
00:21:40 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:21:43 Patty Shewmaker
, and we can have some downtime. , we might start joke or laugh and .
00:21:48 Patty Shewmaker
, so there's kind of peaks and.
00:21:49 Patty Shewmaker
Valleys as the.
00:21:50 Louis Tesser 
Definitely.
00:21:50 Patty Shewmaker
Day goes on and then a lot of times when you get to that final push to get that settlement.
00:21:56 Patty Shewmaker
Is it hard?
00:21:57 Louis Tesser 
It's it's a grumpy it's a grumpy.
00:21:59 Louis Tesser 
Because to me, there's sort of this initial phase where everybody's just talking about this is how we view the world and.
00:22:06 Louis Tesser 
Don't puncture our bubble of wisdom that we have built around.
00:22:11 Louis Tesser 
Reality, ? And then there's sort.
00:22:13 Steve Shewmaker
Don't, don't. Don't puncture our bubble of wisdom that we've created around our reality. Somebody somebody write that down.
00:22:13 Alexa Lewis
Of wisdom bubble.
00:22:20 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, I it. Yeah, right.
00:22:23 Louis Tesser 
, right, right. I think you can see it in political parties. You can see it.
00:22:28 Louis Tesser 
In.
00:22:29 Louis Tesser 
Anything. , people have created this narrative that .
00:22:34 Louis Tesser 
They are very beholden to, but , they just don't want to hear the contrary information. But , inevitably it's you've got your bubble, you've got your bubble. But let's talk.
00:22:35 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:22:43 Louis Tesser 
About.
00:22:44 Louis Tesser 
What they would say, and let's talk about what the judge might think about that. So there's the negotiation phase, but then there's that final phase of we pretty much have a deal, but let's put it on paper, .
00:22:46
Well.
00:22:54 Steve Shewmaker
Well, that begs the question I got to ask you.
00:22:56 Steve Shewmaker
Because.
00:22:56 Alexa Lewis
That's no fun. Yeah, yeah.
00:22:56 Steve Shewmaker
I am I'm a neophyte mediator compared to you because you've been doing it myself. Asking myself at the very beginning of the day. Yes, I said to myself as myself at the beginning.
00:23:01 Louis Tesser 
This is true. This is true but.
00:23:03 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, I think.
00:23:05
It's a.
00:23:05 Alexa Lewis
Good word, this word of the day.
00:23:09 Alexa Lewis
Self.
00:23:12 Steve Shewmaker
Mediation how much time in hours or minutes am I going to dedicate to just listening to the people and smiling and nodding before before I turn the before I turn the corner and go OK, Now let's talk about can you prove this up? Is it realistic? How much time do you dedicate to that?
00:23:19 Patty Shewmaker
And as you Commission.
00:23:24 Patty Shewmaker
Now it's time to work, yeah.
00:23:31 Louis Tesser 
, well, I I will say that.
00:23:33 Louis Tesser 
It's probably something that anybody doing it would do differently, , and you have got to get some. this is sort of people's.
00:23:37 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:23:41 Louis Tesser 
Day in court in.
00:23:42 Narrator
A sense because it it it's.
00:23:43 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah, it's a process. And and people want to be heard and they want ice mediator. They want you. Louis, I need you to hear my side of the story.
00:23:46 Louis Tesser 
Absolutely.
00:23:51 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:23:53 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:23:55 Patty Shewmaker
I need you to.
00:23:55
Right.
00:23:55 Patty Shewmaker
Hear. Yeah. And sometimes it takes a minute and you almost have to hear that before. Steve says, you get.
00:23:56 Louis Tesser 
Right.
00:23:58
Right.
00:24:01 Patty Shewmaker
Down to work.
00:24:01 Steve Shewmaker
Right.
00:24:02 Louis Tesser 
Well, I think you have.
00:24:02 Louis Tesser 
To kind of I, I imagine it's what judges kind of have to do, which.
00:24:06 Louis Tesser 
Is you kind of have to go. I do hear that. But do you want me to act that's the end all?
00:24:09 Narrator
Mm-hmm.
00:24:11 Louis Tesser 
Be all.
00:24:11 Louis Tesser 
Now you win the case. I'm not gonna give you that because I don't want to disappoint you later, .
00:24:11 Alexa Lewis
Right, right.
00:24:17 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:24:17 Louis Tesser 
What ?
00:24:18 Steve Shewmaker
OK, now my vision for this interview, which is our, this is our first mediator interview. My vision superhero. Yeah. Superhero mediator. My vision for this is that we have a whole series, , in a subfolder of mediator, superhero mediators. Lewis of, of course, is the first one and quite appropriately so.
00:24:20 Louis Tesser 
Yes.
00:24:24 Patty Shewmaker
Meat eater.
00:24:34 Patty Shewmaker
Do you think we'll ever have any?
00:24:36 Patty Shewmaker
Non superhero mediators.
00:24:39 Alexa Lewis
Definitely.
00:24:39 Steve Shewmaker
Non superhero mediator.
00:24:41
After the first.
00:24:42 Louis Tesser 
Few. It's sort of you go.
00:24:43 Alexa Lewis
It's all downhill from there.
00:24:43
Down another one.
00:24:44 Steve Shewmaker
Here we'll get Danny love. Danny. No. So we get a series of mediators and and we'll basically have the same interview with all of you to get a different feel for the same topic.
00:24:45 Louis Tesser 
They're all superhero, OK?
00:24:54
Yeah.
00:24:56 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:24:57 Steve Shewmaker
And then we'll put it out there and people can listen and they're , , I this mediator, that mediator. But what's the funniest thing that you've ever seen happen at a mediation?
00:25:05 Louis Tesser 
I am not supposed to talk about these sort of things. , the craziest things I've ever. , I've seen lawyers almost get physical with each other. Yeah.
00:25:09 Alexa Lewis
Well, don't give names for this.
00:25:16 Steve Shewmaker
Well, were you?
00:25:17 Steve Shewmaker
The mediator in that case downtown, where the guy got mad, the party got mad when inside and ripped the the the urinal off the stall in the men's room. a.
00:25:25 Steve Shewmaker
Case I'm talking about.
00:25:25 Alexa Lewis
The urinal off the stall.
00:25:29 Louis Tesser 
Wasn't part of that. I'm not. I'm not.
00:25:30 Steve Shewmaker
You're aware of that one there?
00:25:33 Louis Tesser 
Even aware of.
00:25:33 Louis Tesser 
That and it just seems a strange target.
00:25:33 Alexa Lewis
I'm not aware that either.
00:25:36 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:25:39 Steve Shewmaker
All right. Well, what's the strangest?
00:25:40 Steve Shewmaker
You saying?
00:25:42 Louis Tesser 
Well, I thought that fighting was sort of crazy, ?
00:25:46 Steve Shewmaker
I want you to name names.
00:25:47 Alexa Lewis
When the lawyer.
00:25:47 Patty Shewmaker
But you won't Jerry Springer .
00:25:50 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:25:53 Louis Tesser 
, it was sort of surprising to me, , one of them.
00:25:55 Steve Shewmaker
So that's that's the best you got. You quit.
00:25:57 Patty Shewmaker
So did you have to break it up? I.
00:25:59 Patty Shewmaker
Mean I want.
00:25:59 Patty Shewmaker
To know more, did you have you have?
00:25:59 Alexa Lewis
Right. Did you mediate the lawyers?
00:26:01 Alexa Lewis
Point you're well.
00:26:02 Patty Shewmaker
Right. Did you, get in between them and, , push them apart?
00:26:04
, that's a that's.
00:26:04 Alexa Lewis
Gosh, guys relax.
00:26:05 Louis Tesser 
A sort of.
00:26:05 Louis Tesser 
That's its own subtopic, which is some.
00:26:07 Alexa Lewis
Ah.
00:26:08 Louis Tesser 
Times, , it's the parties versus the parties and sometimes it's kind of the lawyers versus the lawyers sometimes, yeah, sometimes it's the lawyer versus the party, ? Yeah.
00:26:11 Patty Shewmaker
Yes, versus ego.
00:26:17 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah, interesting. Interesting. So you kind of gotta.
00:26:20 Alexa Lewis
OK. Who who who which?
00:26:20 Louis Tesser 
.
00:26:22 Patty Shewmaker
Personalities. Am I mediating interesting?
00:26:24
Yeah.
00:26:25 Louis Tesser 
Right. And I and I.
00:26:25 Louis Tesser 
Think I think it's sort of useful to share that to some.
00:26:28 Louis Tesser 
Extent Patty.
00:26:29 Alexa Lewis
Sure.
00:26:30 Louis Tesser 
 in the other room, the lawyer actually kind of agrees with you, I think. But yeah, that party is not gonna go there, .
00:26:36
Tell.
00:26:37 Patty Shewmaker
Me. Tell me this, Lewis. And we talked about this in episode 14, , kind of our experiences with mediation. And I've.
00:26:42 Patty Shewmaker
Said.
00:26:43 Patty Shewmaker
Two that I can think of mediations where.
00:26:47 Patty Shewmaker
We identified early on that the attorney in the other room was the impediment. Now I was able to, , and and I talked to my client and talked.
00:26:52
Yes.
00:26:56 Patty Shewmaker
To the mediator.
00:26:57 Patty Shewmaker
And the mediator was able, , cause both sides agree. You can't do this unless both sides agree that the party is just the party spoke to the mediator and we were able to settle the case. Have.
00:27:06 Patty Shewmaker
You ever had a situation that?
00:27:08 Louis Tesser 
I feel there's.
00:27:11 Louis Tesser 
Something approaching that fairly commonly now, I would. I wouldn't put the parties together because I think when you put the parties together, you get these sort of unworkable solutions that then a lawyer is almost obligated to go we're not doing that. But thank you for making the contact and for kind of.
00:27:16 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, no kidding.
00:27:24 Alexa Lewis
Sure.
00:27:28 Patty Shewmaker
You do see it often with the lawyer on or both. Lawyers can be an impediment.
00:27:32 Louis Tesser 
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think I think that.
00:27:38 Louis Tesser 
There's a philosophical thing here a little bit. , we really are taught in law school that we're supposed to be fanatical.
00:27:45 Louis Tesser 
Zealous advocates, , and yet I.
00:27:45 Alexa Lewis
Yes, zealous.
00:27:48 Louis Tesser 
Think.
00:27:50 Louis Tesser 
Most people really just kind of go. Just don't let me get run over. I want to do what's fair and be done with this, .
00:27:57 Steve Shewmaker
Most people have you met my clients?
00:28:00 Louis Tesser 
Well, right, but then that's right, because you're you're ready to go to bat and go to.
00:28:02 Patty Shewmaker
OK.
00:28:06 Alexa Lewis
Well, you're. You're you're you're you're.
00:28:06 Louis Tesser 
Jury trial and all that stuff.
00:28:08 Patty Shewmaker
Well, you want to put out there into the universes attorneys do better. Mm-hmm.
00:28:13 Louis Tesser 
I I would.
00:28:16 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, I would to. I would every lawyer to have a sit down with their client and say.
00:28:24 Louis Tesser 
Is this all about getting a pound of flesh, or is this about a practical resolution? If you if your goal is a pound of flesh, I get it. , there are those situations and by all means let's do that.
00:28:29 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, sure.
00:28:35 Steve Shewmaker
It's usually it's usually a pound of flesh, unless they do this for me. That's what I hear about, yeah.
00:28:40 Louis Tesser 
, right. But.
00:28:42 Louis Tesser 
But that's really just a fancier way of saying I'd a.
00:28:45 Louis Tesser 
Pound.
00:28:45 Steve Shewmaker
Of flesh? Sure. Well, here's my commentary. Here's my commentary about you. I'm talking about Lewis tester as if Lewis.
00:28:51 Louis Tesser 
Brace yourself.
00:28:52 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, here we go.
00:28:52 Steve Shewmaker
The court refers the court refers to lawyers as officers of the court, which is important. That means we're not just in court to advocate zealously for our clients and win at all costs. We also have to adhere to certain Rules of Procedure and ethics and we are officers of the Court. I think a mediator is a Super officer of the court.
00:28:57 Louis Tesser 
All right.
00:29:13 Steve Shewmaker
Because because the mediator.
00:29:13 Alexa Lewis
Word of the day.
00:29:18 Steve Shewmaker
Is is so vital in settling probably 3 out of four cases and clearing up these enormous dockets that you have done in Fulton County. So the mediator really, it really is a vital officer of the court, even if it's a private mediator you, who's paid well for your service. It's it's a super officer of the court.
00:29:33 Patty Shewmaker
Alright, great.
00:29:38 Steve Shewmaker
And the other thing I about Liz Tesser is, , I know, I know you said earlier you're the best mediator, but if somebody calls me and says, , are you the best attorney? My answer is going to be.
00:29:44 Patty Shewmaker
In Georgia.
00:29:48 Steve Shewmaker
I strive to be never the best attorney, but in the band of the best attorneys, that's what I strive to be and I hope that some days I'm in that band.
00:30:00 Alexa Lewis
I didn't know you want.
00:30:01 Alexa Lewis
To be in a band.
00:30:03 Steve Shewmaker
With a little bit of.
00:30:04 Patty Shewmaker
Remember the guitar playing then?
00:30:04 Steve Shewmaker
Oh my God. Oh, my God. It's so difficult. I I hate all of you.
00:30:09 Steve Shewmaker
No, but the point being is that there's a little bit of humility here that should come in. I strive to be the best I can be, and I hope I'm in the best, and I think Lewis would say that if he wasn't, , all nervous, he is now. So tell me this. Tell me this. What's the coolest thing you ever seen me do?
00:30:15 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:30:17 Louis Tesser 
Yeah.
00:30:20 Louis Tesser 
So egotistical, yeah.
00:30:27 Louis Tesser 
That's just a daily. That's just a daily it's a daily question because, , when do I? When do I see you that you're not doing something just superlative and impressive.
00:30:30 Steve Shewmaker
No, be serious. Be serious. What's Steve doing today?
00:30:35 Alexa Lewis
Well, he keeps posting on Facebook every day.
00:30:38 Louis Tesser 
Uniquely, it's 1 upping yourself .
00:30:40 Steve Shewmaker
Well, my poker playing skills weren't that impressive last night. You cleaned me out. You and Doug Weinstein? Yeah.
00:30:43 Louis Tesser 
That's that's that's true.
00:30:48 Alexa Lewis
I have a serious question. Well, , kind of a serious question. So. So is our office, in fact your favorite place to mediate?
00:30:49 Narrator
Yes, I I would love.
00:30:51 Louis Tesser 
A serious question, OK ohh.
00:30:58 Louis Tesser 
Aye.
00:30:59 Louis Tesser 
 what I think I will go.
00:31:01 Louis Tesser 
There. Yeah, absolutely.
00:31:01 Alexa Lewis
Really. Alright tell.
00:31:03 Patty Shewmaker
Me. Why?
00:31:03 Louis Tesser 
Yeah, it is. It is.
00:31:06 Steve Shewmaker
Why?
00:31:06 Louis Tesser 
Comfortable you don't have the mediation rooms right next to each other where you're , I think they can almost hear us here, , and. And the parties just feel the heat off each other's oras or something. It's , yeah, yeah. You want a little separation, but this is just a beautiful building. It's while I'm walking between people.
00:31:11 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:31:16 Patty Shewmaker
Yes, they can feel the energy, yeah.
00:31:26 Louis Tesser 
I usually know a bunch of people that just kinda.
00:31:28
MHM.
00:31:30 Alexa Lewis
Get a little chitchat on the.
00:31:30 Louis Tesser 
Cool. , get a little chitchat in the absolute best men's bathroom bathroom, which, , .
00:31:31 Alexa Lewis
Way.
00:31:33 Alexa Lewis
Do we feed you well?
00:31:40 Steve Shewmaker
Wow.
00:31:40 Louis Tesser 
That's that sounds weird, but it is truly a cool thing. It's full of this Star Wars stuff, and yeah, it is. , it's just.
00:31:42 Patty Shewmaker
All right.
00:31:45 Alexa Lewis
It's a fun house. Yeah, it's a.
00:31:47 Alexa Lewis
Fun house, yeah.
00:31:49 Louis Tesser 
A mellow food. It's cool.
00:31:50 Alexa Lewis
We feed you OK?
00:31:51 Louis Tesser 
Yeah. Yeah, it's Steve. Steve will eventually come in and kind of go, .
00:31:55 Louis Tesser 
Here's where here's where you guys settle.
00:31:57 Louis Tesser 
This Case No, 2 great.
00:31:57 Alexa Lewis
Everything.
00:31:59 Louis Tesser 
Credit. that last thing with Tuscan, yeah, I do not believe that would have settled without you come in. And they're gonna going. Yeah. Guy. Yeah.
00:32:05 Steve Shewmaker
I appreciate that.
00:32:06 Steve Shewmaker
But sometimes I will walk into Lewis as a media and I'll go, Lewis, my clients being difficult. I want you to take 3045 minutes and then I want you to turn the corner and say, look, dude and that's what I need you to do. So yeah.
00:32:15
Yeah.
00:32:16 Louis Tesser 
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I think I think a lot of.
00:32:20 Louis Tesser 
The first.
00:32:22 Louis Tesser 
Parts of mediation. You're listening and you're kind of uncritical, but that's you gathering some political capital and you gathering some concept of what's going on.
00:32:29 Patty Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:32:33 Steve Shewmaker
Right, because you can't just walk in immediately and start saying no, you're wrong, .
00:32:36 Louis Tesser 
Right. Right now I cannot. I will tell you there is some somebody I know that can.
00:32:38 Steve Shewmaker
Right.
00:32:41 Steve Shewmaker
Really. Well, you'll have to if you don't.
00:32:42 Louis Tesser 
Yes.
00:32:43 Steve Shewmaker
Feel comfortable saying it.
00:32:44 Louis Tesser 
I will. I will name names. Go right ahead. Linda gentles. No, the ghetto just kind of goes. Give me the 5 minutes and you go. Here it is. And shouldn't we win? And she goes. No. Here's what you're doing. And your 20 minutes are up. And that's what you do. You can write it up and and there are people in North Georgia.
00:32:46 Louis Tesser 
Gettle.
00:32:47 Alexa Lewis
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:49 Steve Shewmaker
So Linda Gettle don't play.
00:32:55 Alexa Lewis
Now.
00:32:59 Patty Shewmaker
And just and yeah, yeah.
00:33:03 Louis Tesser 
That.
00:33:04 Louis Tesser 
Have mediated 50 times and never used anybody but her. So.
00:33:07 Steve Shewmaker
Yeah.
00:33:08 Steve Shewmaker
She's just kind of I I.
00:33:09 Steve Shewmaker
Don't I understand? Yeah. We gotta get her here. Listen, you are the first mediator in what I envisioned to be a series of super. We're gonna get all these super mediators and we'll get Danny and Azure at the end and super mediators and and you're the lead off.
00:33:15 Alexa Lewis
Superhero.
00:33:19
Please.
00:33:21
What?
00:33:23 Louis Tesser 
OK, well, I'm delighted to have done so always.
00:33:24 Steve Shewmaker
Thank you for.
00:33:24 Steve Shewmaker
Joining us, thanks for being here.
00:33:26 Steve Shewmaker
Louis alright. Hey, lawyers without billboards. Shoemaker and Lewis. With Lewis tesser. Peace out.
00:33:27 Louis Tesser 
Good to see you guys.
00:33:30 Patty Shewmaker
You sound.
00:33:33 Alexa Lewis
Pizza.
00:33:45 Narrator
Sit for this episode of Lawyers without billboards.
00:33:48 Narrator
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00:34:01 Narrator
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00:34:03 Narrator
Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.