Whether your mediation takes place in a “brick and mortar” conference room or fully online, or perhaps a mixture of face-to-face and online (hybrid), the following concepts about mediation will help you to participate most capably in your mediation discussions.
Mediation is ultimately about helping you to most capably make informed decisions about whether you desire to resolve a dispute on negotiated terms, or continue in some other way.
It can be strongly argued that it is worth it for nearly every disputant to early figure out what are the “best terms” available to resolve a troubling dispute in the near term through an affordable, accessible and efficient mediation process.
Most people do not necessarily need to “win” to resolve a dispute, they just want to be sure that they do not “lose.” People want to be smart about these things, not dumb. That is what mediation discussions are all about – seeing if you can confidentially figure out best solutions to move forward.
So, mediation is all about being heard and working with the mediator and “the other side” to see if there might be a mutually acceptable set of arrangements to most capably resolve the matter and move on.
Generally, mediation may be thought of as “assisted negotiation.”
Negotiation may be thought of as “communications for agreement.”
Hence, mediation is “assisted communications for agreement.”
Central to mediation is the concept of “informed consent.” So long as participants understand the nature of a contemplated mediation process and effectively consent to participate in the described process, virtually any mediation process is possible and appropriate.
Key Qualities of the Mediation Process
Voluntary – You can leave at any time for any reason, or no reason.
Collaborative – As no participant in mediation can impose anything on anyone, everyone is motivated to work together to solve the issues and reach best agreements.
Controlled – Each participant has complete decision-making power and a veto over each and every provision of any mediated agreement. Nothing can be imposed on you.
Confidential– Mediation is generally confidential, as you desire and agree, be that by statute, contract, rules of evidence and/or privilege. Mediation discussions and all materials developed for a mediation are generally not admissible in any subsequent court or other contested proceeding, except for a finalized and signed mediated agreement. Your mediator is obligated to describe the extent of mediation confidentiality and exceptions to that confidentiality. The extent of confidentiality for any “caucus meetings” (meetings between the mediator and individual parties) should also be defined.
Informed– The mediation process offers a full opportunity to obtain and incorporate legal and other expert information and advice. Individual or mutually acceptable experts can be retained. Expert advice is never determinative in mediation. The participants always retain decision-making power. Mediators are bound to encourage parties to obtain legal counsel and to advise them to have any mediated agreement involving legal issues reviewed by independent legal counsel prior to signing. Whether legal advice is sought is, ultimately, a decision of each mediation participant.
Impartial, Neutral, Balanced and Safe – The mediator has an equal and balanced responsibility to assist each mediating party and cannot favor the interests of any one party over another, nor should the mediator favor a particular result in the mediation. Your mediator is ethically obligated to acknowledge any substantive bias on issues in discussion. The mediator’s role is to ensure that parties reach agreements in a voluntarily and informed manner, and not as a result of coercion or intimidation.
Self-Responsible and Satisfying – Based upon having actively participated in voluntarily resolving issues, participant satisfaction and the likelihood of compliance are found to be elevated through mediation compared to court options.
Conclusion
For most people these days, especially with readily accessible and affordable online mediation now being available, it really does make sense to early figure out of a dispute can be constructively and acceptably resolved, often also supporting improved relations between participants. Does it really make sense to wage World War III before figuring out what benefits might be available in mediation?
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