What is Mediation?

A mediation is a meeting conducted by an impartial third party, aimed at settling a dispute between two parties. The mediation process is voluntary, and is aimed at settling disputes without the parties having to resort to lengthy and expensive litigation. Through mediation, parties can often reconcile, repair relationships, settle differences, or reach a compromise.

Why do folks go to mediators?

People can go to mediators for just about anything. Perhaps two business partners disagree about what to do next with the business. Maybe a husband and wife are considering a divorce, but can't decide on terms. Perhaps two parties who are already in a conflict or engaged in a lawsuit would like to find a cheaper and easier alternative to costly, stressful, prolonged litigation.

Different Types of Mediation

There are different styles of mediators, and different types of mediation. There are several different schools of thought within the mediation profession. Two of the most well known styles of mediation are "Evaluative Mediation" and "Facilitative Mediation".

Evaluative Mediation
(Evaluating the Strength of Your Case)

In my experience, many mediators are "Evaluative" mediators - i.e., they will evaluate the your case, and predict what will happen in Court, and may even go as far as to give an opinion on who will win, or who is right or wrong, and how much either party may pay in damages or other costs. Simply put, these mediators focus on evaluating the case, and the eventual outcome in Court; they don't necessarily focus on finding a solution that is agreeable to all parties.

For this reason, evaluative mediators are very popular with attorneys. Attorneys desire to find out, before getting to Court, what might happen in Court. An evaluative mediation may be a helpful predictor of what a Judge might do, or what a jury might think. A good evaluative mediation can let both parties know where they stand, and give good insight into possible outcomes in Court. Evaluative mediations can confirm to an attorney or a client that they do have a good case; or, alternatively, can confirm suspicions or doubts that a party's case might be weak. If one party has problems or doubts arise in the mediation, perhaps that will want to settle.

Facilitative Mediation
(Helping the Parties to Reach Agreement)

Whereas evaluative mediation tends to focus on evaluation of case strength, and what may happen in a Courtroom, Facilitative Mediation is a totally different approach.

A Facilitative Mediator is not focused on giving opinion, but rather is simply focused on getting the parties to agree. This type of mediator doesn't care so much about who is right or wrong, but is concerned with brokering a deal between the parties. Once agreement is reached, the problem can be dealt with, and both parties can move forward. A Facilitative Mediator desires to help the parties avoid excessive litigation by reaching agreement quicker and easier than other methods, including Court.

Ideally, our goal is to reach some sort of agreement by the end of the mediation session. Sometimes multiple sessions may be required when there are a lot of issues, or when the parties are far apart in the negotiations. If we are not able to reach agreement, we would at least like to make progress toward a compromise.

Compromise

Compromise is an important element in Facilitative mediation. Sometimes "compromise" means a true win-win scenario, where everyone is happy, such as in a business arrangement where the solution results in everyone making money, and the business relationship is preserved. Other times, "compromise" means everyone walks away a little disappointed, yet they can live with it; thus able to move on. An example of this might be a divorce mediation - no one ever "wins" in a divorce, and the parties rarely enjoy going through it.

Even in the latter scenario, the parties can at least feel good knowing they saved time and money not fighting about it, and were able to take part in choosing their own destiny, rather than letting the issues be decided by a Judge.

Mediation is Not for Everyone

Mediation is not for everyone. This is why mediation is a voluntary process. If the parties are even somewhat interested in mediation, this is a good sign that a settlement may be possible. Parties who are interested in "vindication", "getting their day in court", or proving who is "right" or "wrong" may not be good candidates for facilitative mediation. Then again, it may not hurt to try; the worst that happens is the parties spend some money and time, and don't reach agreement. Parties who want to reduce the time, money, and stress associated with lawsuits may be great candidates for mediation.

Mediation Services in Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, MO Mediator

For more information, or to find out more about our services, or to schedule a mediation, please contact us by email or by phone at (417) 882-5858.