Mediation Services

Tom Harper

Employment Law Mediator

Tom Harper is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator. As a Board Certified Labor and Employment lawyer, he is uniquely qualified to mediate employment related disputes. Mr. Harper is the only Supreme Court Certified Mediator who is also Board Certified in Labor and Employment law in the Jacksonville area and the surrounding 21 counties of north Florida. He is an Approved Mediator for all Florida Circuit Courts and for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Mr. Harper has participated in approximately 100 employment-related mediations. He is a Panel Member of the Jacksonville Mediation Center (www.JaxMediationCenter.com).

Mr. Harper is “av” rated by Martindale Hubble and has 30 years of experience as a labor relations and employment law attorney. He has tried employment cases before juries in each of the federal district courts of Florida. He has litigation experience in a wide variety and large number of cases, including numerous jury and non-jury trials before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. “Mr. Harper’s Trial Experience Mr. Harper has also served as an expert witness on attorneys’ fees in federal court in employment cases. He also brings experience as having represented both employees and employers. This background and experience makes Mr. Harper uniquely qualified to serve as a neutral in workplace disputes.

Mediation Programs

More and more, parties are recognizing the cost-prohibitive nature of traditional litigation.  One result of this is the emergence of Mediation as a viable tool to be used not only to end litigation, but to avoid it altogether.  Employers are happy to learn how much more efficient and inexpensive Mediation is when compared to traditional litigation. ..

Harper Gerlach believes so strongly in the benefits of mediation, that two of our attorneys have gone through the process of becoming certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as Circuit Court Mediators.  As certified Circuit Court Mediators, Tom Harper and Gary Yeldell are not only able to mediate any civil dispute that may arise in your company, they are also well-trained and uniquely-suited to assist in setting up mediation programs  which could help protect your company from being hailed into court in the first place.