Have you ever decided not to sue because the time, money, or effort needed would be greater than benefit you would receive? If so, mediation may be right for you. Litigation—the process of resolving disputes through the courts—is a difficult process that can take years. Despite its inconvenience, litigation is often necessary because parties cannot resolve conflicts on their own. Mediation is one alternative: it provides a meaningful opportunity for all parties to a dispute to sit down with a neutral third party and resolve the conflict.  

‍What is Mediation?

‍In a mediation, parties meet with a mediator (usually an attorney or other experienced expert) and seek resolution. Most mediations take place in caucus, meaning that the parties separate and speak only to the mediator who moves between the parties. Caucuses encourage the parties to be open and allow the mediator to better understand the parties’ respective positions. In fact, the parties can often communicate their ideas, offers, and concerns better in confidentiality to the mediator, who then communicates them more effectively to the other party.  Mediation is an effective method of dispute resolution for several reasons:

• The mediator can minimize the negative effects of parties’ unrelated history and emotions.
• Because he is neutral, the mediator can more effectively identify and resist parties’ irrational arguments.  
• Because mediation requires upfront time from both parties, it incentivizes parties to make meaningful efforts to reach an agreement that would otherwise be more difficult.  
• Mediation does not require the same standard of evidence or procedures of traditional litigation. Therefore, mediation resolves conflicts more quickly and at a lower cost.  
• Mediation allows parties to retain complete control over their decision to agree and the terms of agreement.  
• All mediation proceedings are confidential, allowing otherwise embarrassing, damaging, or personal information to remain out of the public record.  

How Sumsion Business Law Can Help You

‍At Sumsion Business Law, we have a strong track record of successful mediations. You will always benefit by partnering with an experienced attorney for your mediation because they provide experience, legal expertise and advice about alternatives in your case. Attorneys can also help you negotiate more effectively and evaluate the fairness of settlement offers. Even if you decide against having attorneys present, an attorney should still help you analyze your situation and prepare a special mediation brief for the mediator.  Our attorneys at Sumsion Business Law participate in mediation frequently and are well trained to help you achieve a successful outcome. In fact, we recently helped successfully mediate a $70M federal lawsuit against our client, avoiding an expensive court battle. We have also mediated in construction conflicts, employment disputes, commercial actions, and personal disputes. We have extensive experience mediating all kinds of business disputes. Whatever your specific need, call us at Sumsion Business Law to explore mediation.