Mediation

Flexible Online Mediation removes a lot of the barriers to fast and effective dispute resolution. 

What is mediation?

Mediation is a process in which one of our practitioners assist two or more people or organisations in dispute to negotiate and make mutually satisfactory decisions on the issues in their dispute. It is a form of ‘assisted negotiation’.

Your mediators will use technology to manage communication and document sharing.  This cuts down on costs and overheads and allows us to provide a very supportive co-mediation model. 

At a fraction of the cost of lawyer negotiation due to the more efficient and effective process, this is for people who can’t talk directly to each other due to the level of conflict or logistical issues.

Mediator Facilitated Negotiation is a process where you don’t have to meet or speak directly (instead it’s all online), and you don’t have to sit and wait in a shuttle mediation, because you’re involved in every step.

What happens in the mediation meeting?

The mediator welcomes each person and explains the mediation procedure. He or she asks each person to talk in turn (without interrupting the other) about their concerns.

The mediator clarifies the parties’ concerns and translates them into issues, or decision points, for discussion. The issues are written up and listed in order of priority, providing an agenda for the rest of the meeting. Each party is asked to explain his or her concerns to the other on each listed issue, and together the parties explore options for resolving the points of different. Thereby an agreement is pieced together, like a jigsaw.

Can I talk about the mediation session with friends or professional advisors?

Advisors and supporters can be present at the mediation if all parties agree. The parties can also agree on what will be said publicly about the mediation. Neither the mediation decision, nor anything said at the mediation, can be used in a court or tribunal later.

What if I feel uncomfortable with mediation?

You can ask to speak to the mediator alone. It is a normal part of the mediation process for the mediator to meet separately with each party on a confidential basis. Or you can express your concern immediately and the mediator will try to deal with it openly. You can also ask for the mediation session to be adjourned.

Some of the mediator’s tasks are to try to balance the negotiating strengths of each person, to improve the negotiation dynamics, and to minimise intimidation.

What does it cost?

What about afterwards?

One aim of mediation is to model a method of working through disputes so that the parties can solve their own issues in the future. Mediated agreements often contain a dispute resolution clause in terms of which parties commit themselves, in the event of an alleged breach of the agreement, to come back to mediation before initiating court proceedings.