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Why Use Mediation?

Early mediation enables the disputing parties to evaluate the issues in their conflict and encourages the early resolution of the matter before undue time, money and effort are expended or litigation takes on a life of its own.

Mediation is usually the most effective way to resolve disputes but as it is a voluntary process, a successful result relies on the genuine commitment of all the parties involved. Each disputant should participate with good faith and the intention of resolving the dispute respectfully and peacefully.

Mediation should be your first choice, not your last resort! Guided by the mediator, the parties craft their own solutions which effectively meet their needs and interests. Understanding the benefits and process of mediation is an important step before the parties commit themselves to it.

Fast and efficient: If you feel negotiating a settlement of your dispute directly with the other party is no longer an option, mediation may be the most painless and successful way to resolve it. Compared to a lawsuit, mediation is quick, impartial, private, and inexpensive. Mediation sessions are more often than not scheduled within a few days or weeks from the time of initial contact. Depending on the type of case, the majority of sessions last only a few hours or a day. In contrast, lawsuits often take many months, or sometimes years, to resolve.

Preserve Relationships: If your dispute involves another person or organisation with whom (either by choice or circumstance) you want to remain on good terms, then mediation is an exceptionally valuable option to consider. Preserving relationships with family members, business partners, co-workers, neighbours, your landlord or others with whom you have an ongoing personal or business connection can mean reducing an incredible amount of stress in the future. Taking an adversarial legal alternative can ultimately ruin these relationships by polarising the other party whilst mediation provides the process and environment for resolving a dispute without destroying a relationship.

Confidential: With very few exceptions (e.g. where child abuse or a criminal act are involved) mediation provides a confidential environment where what you say cannot be legally revealed outside the mediation proceedings or used later in a court of law. However, during court proceedings, by and large everything said or submitted in connection with a lawsuit becomes available to the public. This can be potentially extremely damaging to personal reputations or a business’ image and brand. Only by a special order of a judge can information be "sealed" from public exposure. If it is important to protect your trade secrets or avoid airing your dirty laundry in public, your privacy will be substantially greater with mediation than with litigation.

Provides an opportunity for parties to exit an existing lawsuit: If you are already involved in a lawsuit, mediation offers a way to resolve the dispute and leave the court system behind. Mediation is often effective even if the parties have hired lawyers and the dispute has progressed to all-out litigation warfare. Since parties can speak for themselves during mediation, they can suggest creative ideas, discuss personal feelings, and raise practical solutions that litigation might discourage. The mediation process allows parties to escape the full force of the lawyers' approach to the lawsuit. There is the risk that when lawyers are so focused on winning a case they can lose sight of opportunities for resolution including restoring the parties' relationship. The mediator is in a position to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each side's position in non-adversarial terms, promoting an increased likelihood for resolution. This may beneficially alter each party's view of the prospects of winning (or losing) at trial, and open the door to a mutually acceptable settlement. In any case, it provides the opportunity to exhaust all other options rather than taking expensive (financially and emotionally) court action.

Greater chance of ongoing resolution: Agreements reached through mediation are more likely to be carried out than those imposed by a court. In court proceedings, the ‘losing’ party is most often angry and may try to find ways of breaching the letter or spirit of any imposed judgment. However, studies have shown that people who have freely arrived at their own solutions through mediation are significantly more likely to be committed and follow through on them resulting in a prolonged success rate.

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