WHAT IS MEDIATION ALL ABOUT?
Mediation -v- The Courts
Mediation -v- Arbitration
• Arbitration is a long and costly process. It involves both parties providing evidence, answering questions and being subject to a decision made by a third party. Indeed, in most ways, it is similar to court proceedings, and can be just as expensive.
• Mediation involves listening to both parties, the process is not as formal, and is designed to find common ground, on which can be built a solution. It’s quicker, has a very good success rate and the fees are considerably cheaper than arbitration.
Conclusion
Mediation does not prevent court action – if you are unsure as to take a matter forward, then mediation is often the best course. If you find that it has not worked, you can still sue. Only if both parties agree upon a solution will the court process be stopped. Mediation does not affect your court case – all negotiations, in a mediation, take place “behind the curtain”.
Offers can be given, admissions can be made and each party can admit its weaknesses. The mediator will keep all of your secrets and only let them out, if you want them released.
All of the discussions are “without prejudice” and the court will never know what was said.
WHAT IS MEDIATION ALL ABOUT?
In simple terms, mediation is just getting two parties to talk to each other, at a time, when neither may feel that it is possible. The mediator acts as a confidante and “gofer” for each party, so that the possible means of finding a solution can emerge.
The process is quite simple and split into stages:
Stage one – we talk to both sides about how we work and get a simple written agreement signed – you’ll find it here link to agreement page
Stage two – we’ll agree whether mediation is on line or face to face. If it’s face to face, we’ll agree a location. On line is cheaper because we don’t need to hire a location and spend time travelling. It, usually, works very well.
Stage three – the mediation – we sit together for a few minutes, whilst the process is described, each party is asked to give a very brief statement of their position and they we split into different rooms.
Stage four – with each party in its own room, we will talk with each of you, get an idea of where you are and how you feel. We’ll try and get a sense of what you want and, then, try to offer ways of finding a solution. The whole process is CONFIDENTIAL, we never tell the other party what you have said, and vice versa. That way, we have a chance to get to the bottom of the problem and it lets us see if there is any common ground.
Stage five – if we’ve managed to bring you together to reach an agreement, then we’ll draw up a simple agreement – if that’s appropriate – and that’s that. If we think you will not reach an agreement, we’ll end the process, when we have reached that view.
Confidentiality is key to the whole process of mediation. It’s a process done “behind the curtain” so the court cannot be told what happened. You only allow the other party to know what you want them to know, so you are in control of the information you disclose. We will never disclose anything you tell us, unless we have
your full permission to do so.
Results are not guaranteed in mediation, the same way as you can never tell if you will win a Court case or arbitration. Mediation does, however, offer a very good success rate. CEDR quote an overall success rate of 93%.
Other success rates quoted show similar success rates.
The savings in cost and time, together with a huge reduction in the stress associated with any form of legal action, tends to suggest that mediation is the very best way of dealing with disagreements.
