MEDIATION

What is mediation? In the simplest terms, it is assisted negotiation directed toward the resolution of legal disputes.

If there is one word that best captures the concept of mediation, it is “Opportunity.”

It gives you an opportunity to take control of your situation rather than putting it into the hands of a stranger to decide;
It provides an opportunity for you to resolve your conflict as efficiently as possible, conflict that could otherwise drag on and have a devastating financial and emotional impact on you and your family;
It allows you the opportunity to rebuild and move forward.

Many people come to mediation believing that their case cannot be resolved. They are frightened, confused, wounded and sometimes very, very angry

Mediation is perfectly designed for people who find themselves in this situation.

Sometimes, mediation is the first time that the parties have communicated since separating. It is a setting in which you can vent frustrations and express feelings that would be inappropriate in a courtroom. It allows you to seek answers that litigation might not provide. In other words, it is a place where people can be human in an otherwise dehumanizing process. Mediation gives you the opportunity to be heard, perhaps for the first time. It brings a painful chapter to a close and lets you begin a new and better one.

Something indescribable occurs when people who are at odds with one another begin to recognize the possibility of resolution, not just a cease-fire but a peace treaty. It is the moment when hope begins to replace the negativity that too often drives litigation to the point of destructiveness.

Getting to this point requires the parties to suspend their disbelief for a brief time. A little bit of effort complemented with a little bit of trust in the process usually brings relief and resolution that seemed even hours earlier unattainable.