What Is Mediation and Is It Right for Me?

Mediation is a process where parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences. The mediator is not a decision maker, rather the parties are encouraged to find their own solutions to issues by using interest-based negotiation. This means that the mediator will typically try to look beyond each party’s demands and positions to find the interest motivating the demands in the hope of finding common ground, better understanding of each other’s positions, unique solutions to problems and compromise.

Mediation is voluntary, meaning that you are free to participate or not. Furthermore, you are free to terminate mediation if you are feeling pressured or uncomfortable.

If a settlement is reached the agreement will be put into writing and the parties will have an opportunity to review the agreement with their own counsel prior to having the agreement signed.

In order to encourage each party to speak freely and to explore various settlement options the mediation sessions are done on a “without prejudice” basis. This means that should the mediation be unsuccessful and the matter end up before the courts, nothing said during the mediation is admissible as evidence in court.

Why consider mediation?  The answer is simple - it is a low-risk method of trying to achieve resolve disputes. It is non-binding, so you cannot be forced into a settlement you don’t agree with, and mediation generally has a fairly high rate of success. Even if the parties don’t settle, mediation often helps narrow the issues and the parties usually come away understanding and knowing more about the dispute.

Of course, mediation is not for everyone. For example, mediation may not be suitable if there is a history of, or a fear of, family violence or if you are quite certain that the other party is unlikely to negotiate in good faith. Call us to see if mediation is right for  you.