Mediation provides a channel for resolving conflict through facilitated negotiation by an impartial third party. An experienced mediator will assist the disputing parties in finding a resolution on which they can both agree, without escalation into a costly legal dispute.
Why choose Mediation?
Mediation is entirely voluntary, can reduce the time and costs involved in settling disputes, and helps to control risks. But the parties must come to mediation willing to compromise and determined to find a mutually agreeable solution to their dispute.
Other benefits of Mediation include:
- Being an effective means of resolving disputes through tailored party representation
- Parties retain complete control of the process themselves
- A Mediator will take a facilitative or evaluative approach, without possessing or asserting the authority to bind either party to an agreement
- The entire process remains confidential and enables both parties to continue a commercial relationship following the procedure, since they stay in control of their dispute
The format
A standard Mediation will usually take place over a half-day or a full day, beginning with a joint session in which the parties will be invited to give an account of their grievances.
Depending on the circumstances, the parties will then be invited to meet individually with the mediator to assess their respective cases fully and, if appropriate, draft settlement proposals. If a settlement is not agreed upon at this stage, all parties will usually come together again for a concluding joint session.
An agreement through Mediation is not binding and parties involved should make a written record of their settlement agreement in order for that agreement to become binding.
Party representation
Davies and Davies are highly experienced in representing parties through the Mediation process.
A key benefit of Mediation is that it doesn’t focus on the legal rights of the conflicting parties, but instead takes a flexible approach in which an agreement is reached based on the individual needs of the parties. A settlement will not determine who is right or wrong, nor will it decide on a ‘winner’, but it can provide what the formal dispute resolution procedures can’t. Instead, the Mediator will support the parties in determining a resolution that all involved can reasonably agree on without escalating the case to formal legal dispute resolution.
Parties are usually responsible for their own costs and equally accountable for the Mediator’s fees, regardless of the settlement reached.