Strong Attorney
Advocates for Investors
Advocates for Investors
Practice Areas
Attorney Darlene Pasieczny’s legal practice can be divided into four main categories. Click on these links to learn more:
In addition to these four main categories, Darlene and Pasieczny Law LLC represent clients in shareholder rights disputes, business entity breakups, and other complex civil litigation. Darlene Pasieczny also serves as a neutral third-party mediator and arbitrator for parties in disputes. As a private mediator, Darlene works with both sides of a dispute to help facilitate settlement negotiations and agreement. As an arbitrator, Darlene holds hearings and makes final decisions by issuance of binding arbitration award. For more information about Darlene’s private mediation practice, please see the Pasieczny Law LLC main website.
Many cases resolve through mediation and settlement. Once sufficient information is obtained in a case through the discovery process, we often encourage informed settlement discussions or mediation. But we also expect that every case we agree to take on will go all the way to an arbitration hearing or trial, and we aren’t afraid to carry a case through to the end.
Why mediation? A typical arbitration or court case, from filing a case to final hearing or trial, is going to be more than a year-long process. Sometimes multiple years. Settlement is the only way for the parties to have control over the result of a dispute, often much more quickly, and minimizing the additional costs of a hearing or trial.
“Valuing” the case for settlement purposes includes not just the legally recoverable damages. It also means considering what is not being spent: the year plus to a decision; the emotional impact and stress; the attorney fees in cases that are billed by the hour, and the out of pocket costs in all cases to get through a hearing or trial (such as expert fees, forum fees, travel fees, time off work).
Not every case settles. But thinking a potential resolution that the parties control through voluntary settlement (rather than the decision of a judge, jury, or arbitrator) is usually always a good exercise.