What is mediation?

Mediation is a process by which parties to a dispute meet with a neutral third party who is trained to help people reach a resolution which is agreeable to both of them. Mediation usually takes place in a mediator’s office.

Mediation is generally a voluntary process but in some situations parties to a dispute are required to attend mediation.

Parties to mediation are not required to settle their dispute in the mediation. If they cannot reach an agreement then they are free to end the mediation. Parties may resolve some issues but not others.

The mediator is chosen by the parties. The mediator’s fees are paid by the parties.

The parties can spend as much time as they wish in mediation. They may only spend an hour or the mediation could go on for many hours over a period of weeks or months.

Advantages to mediation

The mediation process is totally confidential and nobody other than the parties and the mediator know it is taking place, unlike court proceedings where the parties’ names are posted for all to see and the public can actually observe the parties in court during the proceedings.

The vast majority of disputes are settled eventually. Even complicated and hotly contested disputes which are before the courts for years eventually get settled, often only days before trial and after enormous amounts of money has been spent on legal fees. It makes more sense to settle early.

When you resolve a dispute by mediation you have complete control over the results. You will not be faced with a resolution which you have not agreed to, unlike having a judge make a decision which could be totally unacceptable to you.

Mediation is much less stressful than litigation because it can be scheduled based on the party’s convenience and proceed at the pace set by the parties and based on an agenda set by the parties. There is no threat of a judge making a decision.

Court proceedings often involve a lot of “mudslinging” with parties putting each other down and saying nasty things about each other which only increase anger and bitterness and impedes settlement. This doesn’t happen in the mediation process.

Mediation is much less time-consuming and more convenient because the mediation is scheduled with the agreement of all parties and the mediator so it is generally assured that the mediation will proceed as scheduled. With current technology, mediation can even be conducted over the internet by video conference. When a matter is dealt with by the court, it is dealt with when the court is able to deal with it and often the parties and their lawyers are forced to wait in court for hours or they may be called to the court with less than a day’s notice.

Disputes can be resolved much faster through mediation because you do not have to wait as long to schedule a date with a mediator. Parties often have to wait months or even more than a year for a judge to be available to hear their case.

Parties and lawyers have a different attitude going into the mediation. Their approach is to try and find a resolution that is acceptable to the parties. They are therefore thinking of alternate and constructive and practical ways to resolve the dispute, as opposed to spending their energy thinking how they can win in the courtroom.

You get to choose the mediator. When you are in court you don’t have any choice as to which judge will hear your case. Judges are very qualified to resolve disputes but because the judge is the single person who will ultimately make the decision, his or her personal views will often affect the result. Personalities may come into play. If you are not happy with a mediator’s approach or viewpoint, you can change mediators.

In mediation the mediator will be focused only on your dispute for the time that his allotted. He will have spent as much time as necessary to become familiar with the case so that he can deal with it effectively. Very often judges are faced with an enormous number of cases to deal with at once which prevents them from spending as much time as they might wish becoming familiar with the case.