About Mediation

Litigants have a choice. Insist on the righteousness of their cause, refuse compromise and settlement, and proceed to trial or arbitration at great emotional and financial risk to themselves and their families. But the outcome of a trial or arbitration is notoriously difficult to predict. It is not unusual for a litigant, who thought they had a good case, to lose. The alternative is to mediate which gives all parties the opportunity to substitute risk for certainty and to get on with their lives.

A mediator cannot force parties to settle. A case resolves only if each party decides it is in their best interest to sign off on the proposed settlement. The mediator makes no decisions at mediation and only guides and facilitates.

The entire mediation process is confidential. This allows the parties to have a frank discussion without concern that anything they write or say will be used against them.

Usually the parties send their mediation briefs to the mediator and other litigants a couple of days before the mediation date. This gives all the participants in the mediation an opportunity to understand each other cases, the legal issues and the evidence.

When mediation is scheduled the parties will receive documents setting out the ground rules for the delivery of briefs and the mediation itself. The mediation itself usually starts with all parties together in joint session. Opening statements are usually made by the mediator (setting the ground rules) followed by openings by the lawyers (summarizing their case). The parties themselves have an opportunity to speak their minds.  This joint session can be very important to further understand the issues and positions of the parties. But hopefully, sooner rather than later, the parties meet privately with their lawyers and exchange settlement offers and counter-proposals – starting far apart and hopefully bridging the gap until mutually acceptable solution is found and memorialized in a formal settlement agreement.