Salim Uqdah is an amazing third party neutral. He was fair, had a great demeanor, and quickly resolved our issue. Highly recommend his mediation services.
It is my privilege to enthusiastically recommend Salim Uqdah’s application for certification by your Committee. By way of background, I have practiced law as a trial attorney for over 40 years primarily with Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman and K & L Gates in their Charlotte offices. As a litigator I have worked with numerous mediators through the years (including retired trial judges) and over 15 years ago I (together with several lawyers in Charlotte) formed a panel of mediators/arbitrators called Intercede Mediations. My practice is now full time both a certified mediator and arbitrator. Over the years I have been a CLE lecturer on civil dispute mediation at the NCBA ADR section and for the General Litigation, Construction, and Insurance sections of the NCBA.
One of my distinct pleasures over the years has been “shepherding” observers (both licensed and unlicensed) through an actual mediation. This is how I came to have the pleasure of knowing Salim. Salim has always had very high marks for his diligent work in his responsibilities through the Mecklenburg County courts. Among all of the observers who have attended my mediations, he has been among the most inquisitive about the process and has been one of the quickest learners (including licensed lawyers) of the skills required. His commitment to dispute resolution is palpable, his professional demeanor, and his desire to excel tell me that together with his growing skills he will be a very effective mediator. I can add nothing further to the letters of recommendation from Anne Anderson (one of the best mediators in our state in my view) and Judge Osman.
Folks, please hear me when I say that Salim Uqdah is the real deal as a mediator.
I’ll admit it: as an experienced mediator myself, I’m pretty darn picky when it comes to hiring a mediator in a case where I am counsel for one of the parties.
I also have harbored a bias in favor of only hiring mediators who are also lawyers. (Don’t look at me like that, Mr./Mrs. Judgeypants— I know there are plenty of litigators who feel the exact same way.)
But when opposing counsel in a hotly contested will caveat case suggested Salim as an option for our clients (embittered sets of siblings with a fractured relationship even before their common relative passed away), I was super-intrigued, and thought he might be a good fit. I had met him and heard him speak a few times, and I knew he was trained in collaborative law and a fellow member of the NC Civil Collaborative Law Association which for me is a big plus.
We conducted that mediation recently, and Salim was absolutely FANTASTIC. He hit just the right blend of allowing the parties to work through and express their feelings (and oh my, were they feeling some feelings!), while also keeping them engaged in the process, and deftly coaching them to consider a wider range of options than they had previously been open to.
Salim was exceptionally nimble in handling the complexity of the relational dynamics as they ebbed and flowed, both within the rooms and between the rooms. I was super-grateful for his wisdom and management of the process, and also genuinely proud that we have him as part of our Miles Charlotte roster.
And back to that bias thing… I never had a single moment where I even thought about, let alone thought it mattered, whether he had ever practiced law. He is a thoroughly-trained expert in conflict resolution, and has the full skill set to do this work, and to do it incredibly well IMHO.
On a related note, I already knew our team at the Charlotte office of Miles Mediation & Arbitration was top notch, based on the services they provide me as a neutral. But it was super-encouraging to experience that same unwavering commitment to customer service from the customer’s angle, and it left me thoroughly impressed and even more grateful to be part of this team.
My clients and I are super-grateful for Salim’s dedication to the craft of mediating.
So if you don’t know, now you know.