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Over 80% of Mediations end with a Binding Agreement
Mediation is either a facilitative or evaluative process that involves the intervention in a negotiation or conflict of an acceptable third party who has no authoritative decision making power but who assists the involved parties in reaching a mutually acceptable settlement of issues in dispute.
The UK’s current adversarial legal system is being scrutinised and challenged by everyday consumers demanding a greater say in outcomes affecting their futures. More and more people are regaining control over the decision in their disputes and mediation allows this.
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Mediation is confidential
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The mediator acts impartially
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Mediation is voluntary
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Mediation is faster
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The decision-making authority rests with the parties
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The parties' are assisted in finding options and their own solutions which can lead to a final binding settlement
There are a number of advantages of mediation over litigation:
1. Dispute resolution speed
Conflict is time consuming, worrying, drains resources – financial and management - and can affect people’s health. Mediation is set up quickly, unlike the judicial system, and settlement can be reached in as little as half a day
2. Saving on costs
Legal costs and management time can be a fraction of litigation costs and the participants are int control of the spending
3. Improved communication
In litigation, people tend to take up entrenched positions, communicating through their solicitors. This can lead to misunderstandings. The face-to-face joint meeting that occurs in mediation re-establishes human contact and allows open communication to be restored. It separates the issues from the people and looks forward to creative solutions and options
4. Flexibility
Mediation is without prejudice, voluntary and non-binding, unless there is a signed agreement. It has no formal procedure so the participants and the mediator can be flexible in the tools they chooses depending on the make up of the dispute
5. Provides a reality check
As attitudes become rooted, individuals often get an inflated perception of their case. Careful analysis of the dispute in the private sessions allows our skilled mediators assist the participants to put the case into perspective and get the party to view it from the other participant's point of view.
Why Mediation Works
Mediation focuses on finding solutions rather than picking fault. There are a number of reasons why mediation works so well, here are a few explanations provided by mediation participants:
• It gets things off your chest
“I got a chance to sit down with the other side and tell them exactly how the whole thing had affected me. This gave me a huge sense of relief and really set the stage for us reaching a settlement”
• It lets people have ‘their day in court’
“I wanted people to know that I had been wronged. Whilst the mediator explained that her role was not a judge and jury, her empathy with my case made me feel that I’d been heard”
• It provides a chance for people to see their solicitors in action
“Up until the mediation, I’d only had private meetings with my legal team and seen how well they could scribe a letter. On the day, I saw them present my case and felt I had got my money’s worth at last – especially as we reached an agreement”
• Everyone gets a chance to discuss the facts
“We all got a chance to hear the issues together. Obviously we didn’t agree with the other side’s case but our mediator defined and clarified everything on the table by asking probing questions of everybody in the room”
• The real issues get to come to the surface
“The mediator helped us to focus on the real issues of the dispute, he then started to move both us and the claimant to a settlement. We didn’t settle on the day but we agreed to a second session and signed an agreement before lunchtime. It demonstrated to me just how flexible the process was, allowing us to control how things proceeded”