Neutral Spotlight – Hon. Winship C. Tower (Ret.)

With over 80 distinguished Neutrals—including retired judges and seasoned attorneys—serving Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, The McCammon Group is excited to continue our “Neutral Spotlight” series. This ongoing feature highlights the exceptional expertise, diverse experiences, and unique backgrounds of our Neutrals. Through these spotlights, we offer a closer look at the professionals who are committed to delivering fair, effective, and  innovative dispute resolution services. Join us as we showcase the individuals who contribute to The McCammon Group’s reputation as a trusted leader in alternative dispute resolution.

1. What inspired you to pursue a career in law?  Largely because of a magical year of study in France as an undergraduate, I initially wanted to join the Foreign Service and spend my life and career in far flung postings around the globe. Marriage (and later children) intervened, and it became more realistic to go to law school.  Fortunately, I’ve been able to enjoy a lifetime of worldwide vacation travel with friends and family, but my years at UVA Law and my career as a lawyer, judge and mediator have also been deeply satisfying.
2. What led to your transition into ADR?  Early in The McCammon Group’s history and before I became a judge, when mediation and other forms of ADR were relatively new concepts in Virginia practice, I successfully utilized McCammon Group members to help settle cases involving my clients. That experience—using mediation as an effective alternative to litigation—later led me to refer appropriate cases to mediation from the bench. I was gratified to have the opportunity to join The McCammon Group following my retirement from judicial service, and my active mediation practice has been the highlight of my professional career. 
3. What qualities do you think are essential for someone in your role to be an effective neutral party? Here are three crucial skills: First and foremost, an effective mediator must demonstrate empathy and genuine concern for all parties to a conflict. To do so, the effective mediator engages in active listening—fully concentrating on, understanding and responding to each participant, making them feel heard, and giving them the opportunity to participate in the process. Second, it is critically important that the mediator communicate clearly and transparently to parties and their legal counsel in order to engender productive confidential discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of their respective positions.  Finally, conscientious preparation by the mediator and her energetic participation in the process leads to levels of confidence and trust from the parties that is indispensable in settling difficult cases. 
4. How do you handle situations where both parties seem unwilling to compromise? Each case is unique.  There is no silver bullet that will overcome each barrier to settlement.  The mediator must master and be ready to choose from an array of techniques, depending upon the facts, the law, the status of the conflict and the personalities and dispositions of the parties to the dispute (and of their lawyers!). I try to stay closely attuned to the task of identifying the fundamental challenges to resolving the dispute, including especially those that are implicit or unspoken.  I am also always on the lookout for creative or alternative approaches that are not available in a judicial setting but can provide a breakthrough in in settlement negotiations.  
5. What’s a professional risk you took that paid off? More than once in my legal career I have chosen to pivot from one specialized area of the law to another. In each case, I have done so successfully through preparation, hard work and enthusiasm for trying something new.  Whether establishing a new practice area for my law firm, throwing my hat in the ring for election by the Virginia General Assembly to a judgeship, or learning how to be an effective mediator, I was taking on a new challenge that was rewarded with professional and personal success.
6. What’s one misconception parties often have about the role of the Neutral? Sometimes a party or lawyer participating in a mediation misconceive the role of a mediator as a neutral who decides which side of a dispute is “better” or otherwise acts in a quasi-judicial capacity.  The effective mediator introduces at an early stage and explicitly reinforces on a continuing basis the concept that a mediator is impartial, i.e., doesn’t take sides, and facilitates settlement discussions but doesn’t impose solutions. 
7. What skills do you think young lawyers should focus on to succeed in ADR? Lawyers of any age need to focus on preparing themselves and their clients for an impending mediation. “Winging it” does not serve the lawyer, the client or the process.  In addition to giving a client a heads up on the nature of the process, thoughtful preparation normally requires a lawyer to consider and discuss with the mediator which written materials should be submitted to the mediator in advance of the mediation in order to facilitate the process.  Submissions should not only be potentially helpful, they should be timely.  Neither the lawyer nor the mediator can be fully effective if either is having to learn relevant facts and law on the fly during the mediation.
8. Is there a case or moment in your ADR career that you’re particularly proud of? Many cases in my ADR career have been enormously rewarding. One of the most satisfying resulted in settlement of an extraordinarily complex matter, involving four separate corporate and and individual clients, each with multiple participating lawyers.  Notwithstanding a distinct level of pessimism among the parties and lawyers at the outset, we were able to reach a successful settlement in a single day’s work. All parties and counsel expressed gratitude (and astonishment) at the result.
9. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, either personally or professionally? I have benefitted from so much wise advice from my grandfather, my parents, my husband and a multitude of professional role models that it would be impossible to attribute “the best” to any one piece or part. All of it has enriched my life immeasurably.
10. Is there a quote or phrase you find yourself coming back to often? From Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “ Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks.”

The Honorable Winship C. Tower (Ret.) joined The McCammon Group in January of 2017. She has established a robust mediation practice with particular expertise in cases involving complex family law, business, and trust and estate matters. She is the former Chief Judge of the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, where she served for 16 years. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she practiced finance and family law in Hampton Roads for twenty years. Judge Tower is a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She is a former Member of The Boyd-Graves Conference and a Former Member of the I’Anson-Hoffman Inn of Court. A statewide leader in family law, Judge Tower is Past Chair of the Board of Governors of the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and Past Chair of the Domestic Relations Section of The Virginia Bar Association. She is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education and Judicial Education Programs on family law issues and complex financial issues in mediation. Judge Tower has been recognized in Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution since 2020. Judge Tower continues to bring her extensive experience to The McCammon Group to serve the mediation, arbitration, and judge pro tempore needs of lawyers and litigants throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.