Deb Graceffa has proven to be an outstanding mediator for resolving difficult disputes involving clients with expectations that require reappraisal. Deb is calm, forthright, direct and absolutely capable of managing competing attorney positions with integrity and respect. Deb can stitch together a resolution to a dispute despite the initial and traditional gap between clientele. Without any reservation whatsoever, I would work with Deb to facilitate closure and compromise of event the most thorny legal disputes.
Deb agreed to mediate a bitter construction dispute just before trial, after two former judges had tried and failed to make any settlement headway into opposing counsel’s tornado of shady tactics, obfuscation and bullying. Deb settled the case. She gains full command of complicated facts and laws. She possesses the social and emotional dexterity to communicate with compassion, intelligence and humor. She possesses the strength to be blunt. She listens. She brings appropriate doses of reality to both sides. She gains the respect of even unruly participants. She has the creativity to see avenues of resolution. She holds the commitment and the vision, even when 5 pm has come and gone, to sparing parties the many disruptions and costs of trial.
Deb is my go-to mediator for all things real property. Whether the issue is failure to disclose, landlord-tenant, or a complex real property finance dispute, Deb knows her stuff and has a “bedside manner” second to none that gets cases settled. I first met Deb several years ago as my opposing counsel. I walked away at the end of that case thinking she was one of the best lawyers I had ever met. The same is true in her role as a mediator. That’s why she’s my go-to and I can’t recommend her highly enough.