Kirby Mitchell interview with
Jennifer Olmert (JO) and Diane Smock (DS)
September 2019

One interesting change for practicing Greenville attorneys today compared to 20 years ago is mediation. In 1999, mediation first became mandatory in Greenville County Circuit Court. That same year, the Upstate Mediation Center (UMC) was born, right?

JO: Yes! We are happy to be celebrating the UMC’s 20th anniversary this fall, with a celebration event the evening of Tuesday, October 15th.

Although mandatory mediation has been and continues to be a huge success across the state for a multitude of wonderful reasons. The UMC’s founders understood that low income parties in the Upstate could not afford to hire private mediators, and there needed to be an affordable alternative. Thus, the UMC was created. In the first year, the UMC conducted 80 mediations. In 2018, the UMC conducted 652 mediations. This year, we are anticipating setting another record!

DS: Thanks to steady leadership from Jennifer and the UMC board and many Greenville Bar members, both the concept of formalized civil mediation as well as the UMC itself have settled into the Greenville legal community and practice very effectively. It is satisfying to see it celebrated in 2019. Ten years ago, we were not so sure of the UMC’s survival! I think the benefit the UMC provides to our community remains underappreciated even today.

Y’all please give a brief outline of UMC for anyone not familiar with it –

JO: The UMC is a community-based non-profit organization providing high-quality, affordable mediation services to individuals, families, and businesses in conflict in the Upstate of South Carolina. We offer affordable, reduced rates, and even free mediations and all of our mediations are conducted by fully trained volunteers from a wide variety of professions.

DS: And really since its creation in 1999, the UMC has been busy. It has provided mediation services in hundreds of conflicts each year. There is more variety in the cases than, I think, is commonly known as well – mediation may be mandated by a court, requested by either party in a dispute, or referred by professionals or individuals in the community. There is no other organization providing these services in the Upstate.

Mediation feels “normal” now in 2019. Diane, what was the general Greenville Bar attitude towards mediation back in 1999 and then in, say, 2009?

DS: In 1999, I think there was some reasonable suspicion and skepticism about why this was becoming mandatory. I remember some plaintiff’s attorneys expressing concern that the practical effect would be to create a barrier to getting to a jury, and thus, just be a benefit to insurance companies and large defendants. There certainly was confusion and concern about how mandatory mediation would be coordinated, implemented, and enforced. Some attorneys bluntly worried this would directly cost them money. Over time, the practice evolved and attorneys adjusted their practices. The effect on the Circuit Court’s docket was remarkable – a very steady reduction in the number of contested civil jury trials that I think has continued until today. So I think by 2009, the concept of mandatory mediation seemed here to stay – but as UMC’s executive director at that time, we worried quite a bit about how to keep our doors open for the low-income litigants who needed us. It really was touch and go in and around 2009. But over time, incrementally, we saw mediation become mandatory or encouraged in other areas, like probate court and magistrate’s court, and various school and employment settings, and the UMC was able to generate some sustainable funding and keep things going.

So, mandatory mediation felt like an “innovation” at the time, or…? Were there then or are there now any other ‘mediation centers in South Carolina?

DS: I think it did feel that way in some practice areas. The more pressing practical reality, of course, was it felt like an unfunded mandate for low-income people who could not pay for a lawyer much less a mediator. It felt that way because that is really what it was!

JO: And I think the UMC was the first non-profit to try and address this need in South Carolina back then in 1999. Now in 2019, we are the only nonprofit mediation center in the Upstate, and we provide services for all of Greenville’s surrounding counties. In fact, we have provided many mobile mediations (where our volunteer traveled) to Greenwood and Laurens counties, that is working very well. We understand that traveling to Greenville can often be a hardship on low-income parties living outside of Greenville. When possible, we try to accommodate our clients in this regard. There is a mediation center in Columbia called the Midlands Mediation Center, and there is one in Charleston (Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston) at this time. They both have different models of how they operate from the UMC but same fundamental mission.

How is the UMC funded?

JO: We have been fortunate to receive funding from the SC Bar Foundation for many years. The SC Bar Foundation’s consistent support has truly made the difference in keeping the doors open. Additionally, thanks to Diane’s hard work in 2010, the UMC began working with the Greenville County Magistrate Court. Through that partnership, we have received funding each year from the County of Greenville. This year, the UMC received a grant from the Graham Foundation to reintroduce the UMC’s Community Mediation Program—look for more information about that in January 2020! We also have received grants from John I. Smith Charities for educating our volunteers. Thanks to these grants, we are able to offer scholarships for qualified individuals to take the SC Bar Family Court Mediation Training. We require our volunteers to complete this training, but it is difficult to ask people to spend money for required training in order to volunteer. These grants have enabled the UMC to maintain the high-quality aspect of our mission to provide high-quality and affordable mediation services.

The key to UMC’s success is it’s volunteers (many of whom are Greenville Bar Members!). There would not be a UMC without these amazing, passionate, and highly skilled individuals that volunteer their time.

What types of cases can be mediated at UMC?

JO: The UMC offers the following programs: Family Court Mediation, Civil Court Mediation, Police/Citizen Mediation, Community Mediation, Peer Mediation Training, and Workplace Mediation Training. While the majority of the cases mediated at the UMC are Family Court and Magistrate Court cases, we can provide mediation services for just about any conflict. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, and we make it a priority to match mediators’ experience to the type of case being mediated.

DS: One of the great values of mediation is the flexibility it can bring to a conflict, allowing for the creative crafting of a solution. As probate court judge, I saw many cases that, because we were a court without the tool of accessible mediation at that time, had to be dealt with by strictly following statutes and applying the formal rules of evidence. But really at the core, many of these disputes were emotional family matters that would have benefited immensely from the structured informality of mediation. I hope to see mediation be valuable in the probate court litigation as well as many other areas, as Jennifer outlined.

Bravo.

JO: One last note: The next SC Bar Family Court Mediation Training is going to be October 24-28 in Greenville at the UMC. Scholarships are available for qualified individuals. Please contact Jennifer if you are interested in this opportunity! Thank you so much to the Greenville Bar for all the support.