"Joan Morrow has a demeanor which is ideally suited to effective mediation. She is always respectful and calm. Moreover, she has a true gift for listening carefully and well while not losing the focus of the mediation or her leadership role in moving the parties toward resolution.
     Second, Joan is a true advocate for settlement. I have watched her many times keep parties moving toward potential resolution when they had almost completely lost momentum. And she does so without a hint of bullying or inserting herself or her own views into the equation.
     Third, Joan is always prepared. She makes sure that she has a solid grounding in the facts and the law before mediation and this is frequently invaluable to successful resolution. I have seen her use her knowledge of the case and the applicable law to gently but effectively challenge the participant's positions so that they are able to see vulnerabilities in their case that they had not fully appreciated. She plays "devil's advocate" more effectively than any other mediator with whom I have worked.
     Lastly, as counsel to both individual plaintiffs and corporate defendants, I have had a first hand opportunity to see just how unbiased Joan is throughout mediation. Her approach, demeanor, and tactics are balanced, respectful, successful and fair regardless of the participant's side of the dispute.
     In summary, Joan is one of the finest mediators I know."

Susan M. Robiner
Leonard, Street & Deinard
Minneapolis,
now State District Court Judge

"Joan Morrow is an extremely talented mediator who has relocated from Minnesota to Williamsburg, Virginia. Joan is without doubt the best mediator with whom I have ever worked. She enjoyed an outstanding reputation among both the defense and plaintiff's bar in Minnesota, who, though they at times seemed to agree on little else, always agreed that Joan was a good choice to mediate their cases. Joan works hard at the cases she mediates, is very knowledgeable about employment, achieves a very good success rate, and leaves the parties with good feelings about the process and the result. She is also extremely trustworthy with respect to maintaining confidences."

Daniel G. Wilczek
Faegre & Benson LLP
Minneapolis

"Joan Morrow's 100 percent settlement rate in cases involving my clients has been no easy task...My clients are emotionally needy and believe they have been hurt very badly by their respective experiences...Without exception, each of my clients has left the mediation of their case feeling relieved and reconciled. This, in my view, is a direct result of Joan's strong skills at listening and understanding people. . . . Simply put, Joan is the best mediator with whom I have ever worked."

James H. Kaster
Nichols, Kaster & Anderson
Minneapolis

"I found Joan to be a very skilled mediator. She is extremely thorough, honest, candid and strong...I would unqualifiedly recommend Joan Morrow as a mediator to any party...who is seriously interested in achieving a fast and fair settlement."

Robert M. Mattison
Vice President, General
Counsel and Secretary
GRACO INC.

"Joan Morrow is a first-rate attorney who has become a first-class mediator. Her success rate has been extremely high for my cases. I believe it is at or close to 100 percent of the cases which I have referred to her, which also are frequently the most difficult cases pending before me."

The Honorable Delores C. Orey
State District Court Judge
Minneapolis

"Joan Morrow is always my first choice as a mediator in employment matters because of her knowledge of the law, her previous experience as an employment litigator, her patience, her persistence, her professionalism, her consideration, and her skill at helping the parties reach settlement."

Douglas R. Christensen
Dorsey & Whitney
Minneapolis

I can say without hesitation that Joan Morrow is the dean of mediators in Minnesota... and that she enjoys a reputation second to none.
     My own litigation specialty over the past decade has been consumer protection class actions...I have had seven or eight very large class actions settled through mediation, all of them using a model developed by Joan in connection with three Minnesota class actions in which she acted as mediator. Her effective strategy was to become fully involved in the case long before actual dollar figures were exchanged... It was during the sessions on discovery and production of information that Joan did her most important work in these cases, meeting with counsel again and again and often meeting with the technical personnel for each side. I exported Joan's model to similar cases in other states using other mediators with great success.
     Joan is patient, she is pleasant, she is methodical, and she is determined. Her determination, however, never results in an overbearing or dictatorial manner; she simply refuses to allow the parties to declare defeat until every conceivable procedural and negotiating technique has been attempted. Joan's great strength as a mediator is in spending the time necessary to "invest" both sides in the process itself, so that a failure of the mediation becomes a failure of each party. Exactly how she does this is hard to say, but I have seen her do it with some very difficult and recalcitrant lawyers and parties.
     The bottom line, of course: Joan gets results.

Wood R. Foster, Jr.
Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy & Foster, P.A.
Minneapolis

"A very accomplished litigator before she became a full-time ADR professional, Joan Morrow understands complex litigation. 
     Joan Morrow has an extraordinary ability to imbue and maintain a strong commitment from the mediating parties to stay on track and stick with their central objective of resolving the matter, no matter how difficult the issues, how great the gap between the parties, or how intense the emotions of counsel and their clients. Rather than pressuring or brow-beating the parties, which I've never observed from Joan, she engages in a powerful preaching and conversion, which persuades the parties to 'keep the faith' that by sticking with the process through the rough spots, the common objective of resolution will be reached."

Seymour J. Mansfield
Mansfield & Tanick
Minneapolis

"I have had frequent occasion to use the services of Joan as a mediator and have found her to possess uncompromising professional standards and display a keen ability for resolving the most complex of cases. Her careful preparation and thorough approach have been of great value. I recommend her without hesitation.

R. Scott Davies
Briggs and Morgan
Minneapolis

"Joan Morrow has earned the reputation of being the premier mediator in the region. She brings her insights from many years as a litigator...and a dedication to achieving resolution to every mediation I have been involved in with her.
     She has the ability to spot and speak compellingly to both sides about the weaknesses and strengths of their case. She also possesses the social skills and frankness to earn the trust and respect of both the clients and attorneys on both sides. But, most importantly, she works tirelessly to talk sense to both sides in a way that works."

Stephen W. Cooper
The Cooper Law Firm
Minneapolis

In my experience, no one is better or more successful at mediation than Joan Morrow.
     In the last four years, I have used Mrs. Morrow as a mediator on three complicated, contentious cases which I thought unlikely to settle...All of the cases involved multiple or class plaintiffs against large corporate defendants, including insurance companies, with millions of dollars at stake.
   Mrs. Morrow is excellent at controlling the parties and their counsel; at determining the respective ranges of settlement by the parties and if necessary, at getting the parties to move off that range to a different level of commitment.
     In one recent case, under extreme time pressure, Mrs. Morrow got up to speed on the factual background of the case, as well as the legal nuances and arguments raised by the parties. Because of her hard work, intelligence, and skill, she facilitated the mediation process by effective communication of the strengths and weaknesses of each side's case. Our client, a very sophisticated multi-national conglomerate, was especially impressed by her skill.

Thomas M. Sipkins
Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson
Minneapolis

"This office has used Joan Morrow as a mediator on numerous cases over the past ten years. Our attorneys and clients have found her to be every effective. I can highly recommend her for any case which calls for a skilled and experienced mediator. . . . Ms. Morrow is widely and properly regarded as one of the top mediators in the State of Minnesota."

Donald E. Horton
Horton and Associates
Minneapolis

"I have rarely had the pleasure of meeting any individual who brought such exquisite skill, intelligence, grace and eloquence to the settlement process. You single handedly took a highly contentious sexual harassment class action, and in two days, managed to defuse to years of tension and strained relations between the parties.
     Your approach with class members was outstanding, giving each a chance to ventilate their feelings and equally impressive, adroitly channeling the catharsis which you achieved into a complicated settlement that all sides considered to be fair and reasonable."

Lloyd B. Zimmerman
Senior Trial Attorney
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Minneapolis Area Office,
now State District Court Judge