Mediation: A Good Thing

Disputes occur every day between an employer and employee, between businesses and between individuals. When people cannot resolve their differences they turn to others for help.

In decades past, the only available option for a serious business dispute was the court system. Since then, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like mediation have made things a lot easier.

Mediation is a form of dispute resolution used by businesses of all sizes and by people with all kinds of conflict. Mediation is an informal, voluntary means to allow parties to hear each other and find a solution that works creatively to solve the problems at hand. Good mediators are trained, experienced and neutral. Mediators do not pressure you to agree nor do they make recommendations.

Large corporations, human resource administrators and couples getting divorced choose mediation for reasons including the following:

• Cost: Mediation is a low-cost alternative to litigation. The cost of a mediator is less than ongoing legal fees and is generally shared by both parties. Litigation can bankrupt a business, while mediation does not.
• Time: For any individual or business owner, time is money. Hearings and trials not only cost money, they can string a dispute out over years, further compounding the damage caused by disagreement.
• Energy: Litigation is polarizing, usually leading to a winner and a loser. While litigation used to be considered the cost of doing business, mediation serves the purpose of finding winning, or at least agreeable, solutions for both parties.
• Preserving the future: Mediation makes room for positive future relationships. Business disputes arise among people doing business. If you would like to keep doing business after a serious dispute, mediation is a good alternative to litigation.

Mediation does not always work. When parties cannot find agree, the option of litigation is always available.

Arbitration is also a form of ADR we will discuss in the next blog. When you have a dispute that needs a good solution, get trusted counsel from an experienced Georgia mediator.