By Hon. Angela C. Robinson
Getting to the negotiation table is often half the battle. Mediation provides a solution.
The mediation space, when properly constituted, is a place for all voices, all identities, all classes, all people. It is a place to confront and solve disagreements as wide ranging as the correct amount of compensation for a personal injury, to whether a child should live in a certain place with a certain person, to the proper amount of noise that should be allowed to emanate from a neighbor’s home. Mediation is the perfect place to bring discord.
Disputes are ubiquitous. They arise everyday in all different kinds of contexts. Very few of them require lawyers, or actually result in litigation. That means, if they are resolved at all, most disputes get resolved outside of a courthouse. Of those that do make it to a lawyer or to court, the vast majority of those are also resolved without trial. Therefore, the Negotiation Table is really the best place to settle disputes.
If these are the facts (and I don’t think anyone can seriously contest them), why is it so hard to bring disputing parties to the bargaining table? Why wouldn’t they be beating down the doors of mediators and ADR Neutrals?
Sometimes, it is a lack of awareness of the option. Sometimes, it is fear of the expense (though ADR expenses are a fraction of the cost of litigation). Sometimes, it is fear of the loss of control (though a genuine mediation process actually empowers participants more than traditional litigation). Sometimes, it because of the fear that suggesting negotiation is a sign of weakness. Sometimes, frankly, it is because the status quo leans towards litigation, even though litigation is usually more prolonged, more costly and less universally satisfying.
Getting disputants to the negotiation table, is often the crucial step to resolving a matter, and resolving it more expeditiously and gratifyingly. In this pandemic, the courts are delaying trials, hearings and even pretrial dispute resolution, making private dispute resolution an ideal economical and efficient option. It provides an option to resolve disputes with finality, or to move disputes forward for more formal adjudication. These extra-judicial interventions are tailor-made for the participants – the negotiation table can be set when and where it is most convenient for everyone.
If you are interested in learning more about how a professional mediator, such as myself, can help move you or your client’s dispute closer to final resolution please reach out. I have ideas, techniques and suggestions.