Mediation Services
What is Mediation?
Mediation is when 2 or more parties having a dispute or disagreement enlist the aid of an impartial, neutral 3rd party to assist in the negotiation of their differences. Mediation is a voluntary process and all parties must agree on the process and the mediator they choose. What happens in Mediation stays in Mediation. This is a confidential process. People have disagreements all the time. Some of them are easily able to be navigated and some do better with the help of an impartial facilitator. Not all mediations are court ordered but some are. Sometimes just having a guide to keep the parameters of the conversation on a constructive path, and give each party the opportunity to be heard and understood makes all the difference.
What is a Mediator?
A Meditator is a trained professional who acts as a neutral facilitator during the mediation process. The role of the Mediator is to be a bridge to communication and help the parties to define the issue(s) at hand, eliminate obstacles and create a productive converation with the goal of finding a middle ground. Ultimately a mediator is the guide but it is up to the parties to create the agreement.
Benefits of Mediation vs Litigation
- Participants have greater control of the process
- It is a flexible, informal process
- It is confidential
- Convenience (on Zoom at an agreed upon time)
- Quicker process & significantly less expensive
- Customized & mutually satisfactory agreements
- Based in problem solving
- Preserves relationships
- Considers the best outcome for all
- High compliance rate
- Outcome is no longer with the participants
- Formal, rigid process
- Everything becomes public record
- Must go to courthouse at appointed time
- Lengthy & expensive process
- Precedent based agreements
- All about evidence
- Only considers legal implications
- Often a 1-sided outcome
- Decided by the court with little or no buy-in by parties
