Linda Hendrix McPharlin

After decades as a business and employment law counselor and successful trial attorney, Linda McPharlin has learned that the most satisfied clients are not those who win in court after bruising if not brutal years in litigation, but those who resolve disputes before litigation takes over their lives, and their finances. She now focuses her trial acumen and considerable negotiating skills on conflict resolution at the earliest possible stage, ideally before a lawsuit is even filed. For her employer clients, her conflict resolution practice takes many forms, with an eye to business realities as well as legal mandates. She advises employers in the handling of workplace issues as they arise; drafts employment and arbitration agreements providing for dispute resolution; conducts training in legally compliant practices; and helps assess the legal and practical minefields often encountered in terminations. When an employment claim arises, her approach is to communicate immediately with opposing counsel–not to begin the expensive litigation process–but to offer, without cumbersome discovery, the documents and information opponents need for realistic assessment of their case, and to promote the benefits of early resolution for all. When this results in an agreement to mediate, Linda—an experienced mediator herself—is well able to represent clients through the process to resolution. Where no resolution is possible, only then does MST’s skillful trial team step in to aggressively represent the clients’ interests going forward. And where other litigation counsel, such as that engaged by an employer’s insurer, will ultimately handle the case, Linda McPharlin’s negotiating skills and settlement persistence can be utilized at the outset, to focus on resolution before the litigation machinery is turned on by the trial attorneys.