Meet Tommy Russo
Tommy is a retired South Carolina Circuit Court Judge. His experiences as a successful trial lawyer for 18 years and as a trial court judge for 15 years allow him to provide skillful and effective dispute resolution services.
Tommy grew up in Edgefield County, South Carolina. After attending the public schools in Edgefield County he graduated from Strom Thurmond High School and attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he majored in Education. After serving for 7 years as a high school teacher and football coach, Tommy continued his education by attending the University of South Carolina School of Law. He completed the three year Juris Doctor program in two and a half years and upon graduation, served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. on the South Carolina Federal District Court.
Following his clerkship with Judge Anderson, Tommy began his 32 years of practicing law and serving on the Bench. He has worked in the area of civil practice representing and bringing actions on behalf of Plaintiffs as well as representing and defending Defendants in numerous civil actions. He also served as the Public Defender for Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda Counties as well as serving as Deputy Solicitor for the 2nd and 12th Judicial Circuits in South Carolina.
What is Mediation
Mediation is a process in which an impartial third party (mediator/neutral), helps the parties reach a solution to their problems in a private and confidential manner that all involved find acceptable. All decisions are made by the parties themselves after a thorough discussion of the issues. The mediator does not take sides but assists the parties in understanding the issues, seeking common ground and finding the available solutions. Fault-finding, or assessing blame is a function of the jury and is not part of the mediation process. If, however, no decision or agreement is reached, the parties have not waived or lost any of their rights and are free to exercise their rights by going to court.
At times, a case may need to go before a jury to resolve the parties' differences. However, there are many times when a thoughtfully negotiated settlement is in the best interest of the client. Mediation offers a satisfying forum that the litigation system cannot hope to offer. This includes the efficiency of the process, the flexibility as to when and where the mediation takes place. The costs associated with mediation compared to a jury trial are extremely low. Mediation offers the parties the privacy and confidentiality that an open to the public jury trial just cannot offer. And finally, if not most importantly, mediation allows the parties to control the outcome and hopefully arrive at a result that is mutually acceptable to both sides.
