You may not need a judge or arbitrator to resolve disputes, conflicts, and other difficult issues
What is Mediation
Mediation is an alternative to traditional litigation or binding arbitration. It is confidential and voluntary. As a result the parties control the outcome of their disputes. The process provides an informal, non-binding process to:
- Identify and air issues.
- Make needs and objectives clear to all parties.
- Identify common interests and values as well as competing interests and values.
- Build on common interests and values toward resolution of disputes by balancing competing interests and conflicting values.
Benefits of Mediation
Mediation provides many benefits, as opposed to litigation or arbitration, including:
- A fair and effective form of alternative dispute resolution.
- A forum where the parties maintain greater control over the resolution of disputes.
- A statistically better chance that disputants will, in the future, respect the resulting boundaries than if they litigate the outcome through courts or arbitrators.
- Confidentiality: unless the parties mutually decide otherwise. Public disclosure of sensitive information is avoided, except when all parties agree to disclose.
- Fosters mutual understanding, which often leads to more cooperation, better commutication and improved relationships.
- Mediation generally consumes less time, less money and fewer emotional resources than litigation.
The Mediator’s Role
The mediator provides a safe, neutral, non-adversarial environment, helps the parties identify and frame the issues in constructive ways, and facilitates development of a mutually acceptable solution. A mediator may assume a variety of roles and techniques in assisting the parties. Mediators help the parties:
- Approach the challenges of a difficult conflict with a constructive attitude.
- Embrace reasonable solutions.
- Use positive sources of power to influence one another.
- Approach conflicts creatively.
- Identify and address self-limiting behavior that may hinder resolution.
- Learn new ways to process input received from the other parties.
- Identify multiple options for resolving conflict.
- Develop sustaining relationships and initiate constructive patterns of communication in their work and their lives.
- Build the capacity to manage and cope with future conflicts in constructive ways.
Rodney E. Fitzhugh is certified mediator with extensive training and experience in mediating difficult issues. If you are involved in a lawsuit or other significant conflict, or have difficult issues and concerns affecting your marriage, your family, your business, or your other important relationships, please call us. We can help you determine whether Mediation may be an appropriate choice for you.