CONFLICTS DON'T HAVE TO LEAD TO VIOLENCE OR TO COURT

Most problems and conflicts between people and within systems relate to poor interpersonal relations and communications.  It is more beneficial to handle these within the marriage, family, and organizational system than in the courts.  Pre-Court mediated dispute resolution saves individuals, marriage partners, families, and business owners money by helping them reach voluntary out-of-court decisions with which they can live.  Most importantly, they get to make all of the decisions, not the court or attorney.

The Method

Mediation is a confidential process that brings the parties in dispute together with a neutral third person to communicate and to work toward a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator, who need not be an attorney, leads the parties through the process, allowing all concerns and needs to be expressed and heard. The mediator then puts the parties' negotiated agreement into a form that reflects their terms and sanctions. Authority over the agreement remains with the parties themselves. Attorneys may be present but often are not needed during the negotiation since there is provision for attorney review before parties sign their agreement.

Benefits For Parties

Voluntary, pre-court mediation saves money for all parties by avoiding unnecessary legal fees, court costs, filing fees, and loss of work and personal time. Agreements can often be reached within 1 to 2 hours. This allows the parties to get on with their lives with a minimum of disruption. Valuable relationships can be preserved that might otherwise be destroyed. My cost is $120 per hour plus expenses, divided between or among the disputing parties. Thus, mediation is less expensive, quicker, fairer, and emotionally less stressful than going to court.

Why It Works

With increasing numbers of lawsuits and overcrowded court dockets, individuals and businesses have no readily available, reasonably priced, systematic method of resolving problems and disputes. Everyone has them at some time. Voluntary, pre-court mediation, as opposed to litigation, opens new lines of communication between parties in dispute. It is, therefore, the most sensible solution to very important crises.