Mediation

MediationAnother advantage of mediation is confidentiality. With
As an alternative to litigation the process of mediationvery few exceptions, what is said during mediation
can help parties in a lawsuit evaluate the issues andcannot legally be revealed outside the mediation
come to a settlement. This can be an efficient processproceedings or used later in a court of law. By
to help resolve disputes. The key component ofcontrast, one of the drawbacks of going to court is
mediation is that if an agreement is reached, the termsthat, by and large, everything said or submitted in
of agreement are determined by the partiesconnection with a lawsuit becomes available to the
themselves rather than being imposed by a third party.public.
A neutral mediator assists the parties in reaching aThe use of mediation has increased as a means to
voluntary, negotiated agreement. Mediators use aresolving many types of claims and during the past
variety of techniques and/or skills to open and/orseveral years this process has become one of the
improve dialogue between the disputants, with themost widely used methods of arriving at a reasonable
purpose of reaching an agreement regarding thecompromise settlement. This process may be
disputed matter.especially beneficial in cases which are expensive and
By participating in this process, the parties do notdifficult to litigate to a jury verdict. When approached
agree that they will actually settle the dispute and theeffectively, it ends the claim or litigation without any
mediator does not have the authority to impose suchfurther costs to the client. If it fails, the parties proceed
a settlement. The mediation process may bethrough the regular procedures of litigation and jury trial
terminated at any time without cause by either party.without any penalties.