Mediation

At its core, mediation involves the use of an independent, impartial third party (a mediator) whose role is to assist the parties in a dispute to work towards a negotiated outcome. In this process, it is the parties, not the mediator, who control the decision to settle and on what terms. 

Control of the outcome

Mediation is designed to be flexible and has the benefit of being confidential. It also has the advantage of not being constrained by issues such as jurisdiction or legal process. 

We find that clients value being in control of the process and the outcome through making their own choices.  They remain in the middle of the process and are not hamstrung by procedural rules and the limitations of the rules of evidence. 

However, it is important to be guided through the process by experienced lawyers who know how to make the process work successfully. When advising clients we will always look at the issue in the round, looking for outcomes that will work in commercial terms.

Examples of successful mediation

The flexibility of mediation means we use it in a range of contexts where parties are looking for a pragmatic solution. Examples include:

• In a dispute between partners in a farming business, the written terms of the agreement were so ambiguous that  no one could predict with any certainty what decision the court might reach.  Both parties knew that if the case was ruled upon by a judge it would be a binary outcome, with a winner and a loser. Neither was prepared to take that risk. We mediated and successfully achieved an acceptable solution.
• Mediation worked very successfully in a seemingly intractable dispute within a professional services business.  The matter was resolved in a fashion which allowed parties to move forward whilst preserving the confidentiality of the problem they were wrestling with.  
• We represented a client in a meditation that addressed disputed service charges in respect of a large commercial lease. A matrix of complicated data was considered over a two-day period in a way that could not have happened in a court room. The dispute transformed from heated conflict to joint problem-solving, and the parties reached an agreement which preserved their business relationship.  Litigation would have taken several weeks in court and the fall-out would have seen the parties go their separate ways.