ADR Systems is delighted to welcome Hon. Mitchell L. Hoffman, (Ret.) to its panel of senior mediators and arbitrators. Judge Hoffman has served the legal community for over 38 years, most recently as the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division in Lake County. As a jurist, he heard Chancery and Law Division matters and settled many of these cases in pretrial conferences.

“I have conducted well over a thousand pretrial settlement conferences, and I’ve learned that it’s crucial to listen actively to the parties,” said Judge Hoffman. “In settlement conferences, I try to reduce the tension level by ensuring that the parties know I am listening carefully to them to fully understand their views of the dispute.”

On the bench, Judge Hoffman tackled numerous complex cases that required creative solutions if they were going to settle before trial. For example, he notably settled a case involving the placement of a wind turbine near a residential area.

“In reviewing a map of the affected properties, I noticed that the defendant owned a number of large parcels of property, and that some of them were a good distance from the residential neighborhood that was being affected by the turbine,” said Judge Hoffman. “When I asked why the turbine had not been placed on any of these parcels, the defendant indicated that those parcels didn’t have the zoning that would allow it.  Since the village which controlled the zoning was already a party to the case, I asked about the process and time frame for a zoning amendment to enable the turbine to be moved. Once the parties were focused on achieving the zoning change, they had a direction forward that allowed them to settle the case.”

“Judge Hoffman has decades of experience with a wide variety of personal injury and commercial cases,” said Marc Becker, president at ADR Systems. “We are excited to see him put his knowledge, skills and creativity to work for our clients.”

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Hon. Mitchell L. Hoffman, (Ret.) has cultivated over 38 years of experience as a legal practitioner, having spent 21 of those years as a judge and 17 as an attorney. On the bench, he handled both Chancery and Law Division calls, settling many commercial and personal injury cases. Judge Hoffman is known for his detailed case preparation and analysis. He is fair and even-tempered and provides a calming influence during mediations.

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ADR Systems, It’s Settled. ®