
Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) where an impartial person (the Mediator) helps two or more people, or groups of people, discuss and resolve disputes.
Mediators help those in dispute communicate about the issues of concern to them, and help participants find solutions that are acceptable to everybody involved.
Mediation can be engaged with at any time.
Before you've actually brought legal proceedings, when proceedings have been issued, or even right in the middle of court proceedings.
The courts actively encourage Alternative Dispute Resolution as early as possible in the dispute.
Mediations are usually very successful - parties reach an agreement in the majority cases.
Around 70% of cases settle on the day, with a further 20% settling in the days following the mediation.
The main requirement for mediation is simply that both parties are willing to engage in the process.
Forcing someone to mediate is unlikely to achieve agreement.
But if parties come willing and prepared, knowing their cases well (both strengths and weaknesses) a reasonable agreement can usually be found.
There are plenty of reasons to mediate, the main one in my view being costs.
I witnessed with horror recently a case where a claimant had incurred around £40,000 of legal fees following an initial claim of less than £5,000. Each subsequent stage of proceedings and appeals piled on the legal fees.
Compare that to mediation which could have cost just a few hundred pounds.
The earlier you engage with mediation, the more you could potentially save.
I practice in Civil and Commercial Mediation, which includes the following sort of disputes:
If I don't practice in the area of your dispute, I can refer you to mediation colleagues who will be able to help
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