Practice Areas
Civil Rights, Including Constitutional Rights
The firm represents individuals with claims arising out of their employment, or involving their receipt of public benefits, such as foster care or Medicaid benefits, or involving the government’s deprivation, without due process, of protected property or liberty interests, or arising out of discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.
The firm does not represent individuals in police abuse or jail/prison official abuse cases.
The firm strives to settle, without litigation, all civil rights cases it takes on, because litigation is always more expensive and more time consuming than if the matter is resolved, in the first instance, without it. But many cases cannot be settled without resort to litigation, though, once filed, cases are often settled after a period of concerted litigation but before trial, or after trial but in the course of appeals.
Many litigated civil rights cases, employment cases in particular, involve, at the outset, litigation before federal or state administrative agencies; only at a later stage may it be necessary to file a court case. Other civil rights cases are filed in court without prior proceedings in administrative forums. Mr. Lehrer has extensive experience in the litigation of civil rights cases both before administrative agencies and in courts.
Occasionally, an individual civil rights claim will be one making appropriate its pursuit as part of a class action lawsuit. An individual claim that a state agency rule or practice to which a large number of people are subject is unfairly discriminatory is an example of such a claim. Mr. Lehrer has extensive experience in class action cases, having litigated dozens of them. Because of their complexity, he always litigates these cases with experienced co-counsel.
Mediation Services (Civil Rights, Including Employment, Cases; Personal Injury Cases; Attorney’s Fee Disputes)
Mediation is a process by which the parties to a dispute, which may or may not have resulted in a court case, agree to use a third party “neutral” (called a “mediator”) to facilitate the resolution of their dispute. Mediation is a so-called alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) process. ADR processes are, generally, processes for resolving disputes out of court.
When parties subject themselves to a mediation process, a trained mediator employs well-established mediation techniques to assist the parties in arriving at a settlement that is, under all the circumstances—including, prominently, the expense of an in court resolution (which may involve the very substantial expense of a trial) and the risk of loss that each parties bears in any court case—satisfactory to both parties. A mediator is not an advocate for either party to the mediation. Nor does (s)he have the authority to force the parties to agree, though, if the parties agree that (s)he may do so, the mediator may recommend what (s)he believes are reasonable settlement terms. Even though the mediator is without the authority to force agreement, however, a high percentage of cases in which the parties agree to mediate their dispute settle.
That the parties to a dispute may seemingly be very far apart as to the appropriate resolution of their dispute does not counsel against the parties giving mediation a try. Nor does acrimony between the parties argue against the mediation option. Indeed, it is the usual case that the parties are far apart at the outset of the mediation and that there is some, maybe great, ill-will between them. Both parties to a mediation should, however, enter the mediation with a desire to settle the dispute, a willingness to hear out the position of the adverse party and fairly to consider that position.
In most types of disputes, a mediated resolution, if achievable, carries with it distinct advantages over an in court resolution. Principal among these advantages are that a mediated resolution is virtually always much less expensive and time consuming than an in court resolution, especially if the in court resolution involves a trial. This is so whether or not the dispute is one in which a lawsuit is ever filed. (Some disputes are resolved by mediation without a lawsuit ever having been filed. Other disputes are resolved by mediation after a suit is filed and even after concerted litigation in the suit.)
Parties are usually represented by attorneys in the mediation process; indeed, attorneys usually initiate the process on behalf of their clients. But there is no requirement that the parties be so represented. At the same time, the professional standards of the Association of Attorney Mediators, of which Mr. Lehrer is a member, require mediators to advise parties to consult with and have their attorneys review any agreements drafted by the mediator.
Mr. Lehrer’s mediation practice is restricted to those types of disputes in which he has substantial litigation experience: civil rights, including employment, cases; personal injury cases; attorney’s fee disputes.
Mr. Lehrer’s hourly mediation rates are lower than those of mediators with comparable qualifications to his. Morever, Mr. Lehrer may agree to offer his mediation services on a free or reduced fee basis if: one or more of the parties to a dispute requiring mediation cannot afford the usual hourly mediation fee; all parties to the dispute have been and are represented by attorneys who have participated in the underlying litigation, if any; and these attorneys also agree to participate in the mediation.