Guide to On-Line Mediation

Arbitration is less formal than litigation, and mediation is even less formal than arbitration. Unlike an arbitrator, a mediator does not have the power to render a decision, and determine an award. A mediator may conduct informal joint and separate meetings with the parties to understand the issues, facts, and positions of the parties.

Most disputes result from poor communication. Mediation is an opportunity to communicate better and to be fully heard, to present your story, and to search for mutually satisfactory solutions. In mediation people often communicate more effectively with one another than in arbitration or court.

Another advantage of mediation is that innovative solutions to a problem may be explored. You can create your own solutions rather than have a judge or arbitrator impose a decision on you. Thus, you maintain the power to decide rather than have someone else decide for you.

A mediator tries to obtain a candid discussion of the issues and priorities of each party via a variety of available communication methodologies, including  using the internet as a medium. Gaining certain knowledge or facts from these meetings, a mediator can selectively use the information derived from each side to:

▪ reduce the hostility between the parties and help them to
  engage in a meaningful dialogue on the issues at hand;

▪ open discussions into areas not previously considered or inadequately
  developed;

▪ communicate positions or proposals in understandable or more palatable
  terms;

▪ probe and uncover additional facts and the real interests of parties;

▪ help each party to better understand the other parties’ views and evaluations
  of a particular issue, without violating confidences;

▪ narrow the issues and each party’s positions, and deflate extreme demands;

▪ gauge the receptiveness for a proposal or suggestion;

▪ explore alternatives and search for solutions;

▪ identify what is important and what is expendable;

▪ prevent regression or raising of surprise issues; and

▪ structure a settlement to resolve current problems and future parties’ needs.

The benefits of successfully mediating a dispute to settlement vary, depending on the needs and interests of the parties. The most common advantages are that:

▪ parties are directly engaged in the negotiation of the settlement;

▪ the mediator, as a neutral third party, can view the dispute objectively and can
  assist the parties in exploring alternatives which they might not have
  considered on their own;

▪ as mediation can be scheduled at an early stage in the dispute, a settlement
  can be reached much more quickly than in litigation;

▪ parties generally save money through reduced legal costs and less staff time;

▪ parties enhance the likelihood of continuing their business relationship;

▪ creative solutions or accommodations to special needs of the parties can
  become a part of the settlement.

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