Mediation as an effective method of dispute resolution

Who can use mediation?

Mediation is all-encompassing and can be used by individuals and organisations. It can work for a wide range of values in a dispute.

What is mediation?

There are various ways to skin a cat, a small dispute might be a mediation on the phone for an hour. The other end of the scale will be multi-party international disputes, which usually last a day but can take longer. Commercial disputes are generally a one-day mediation, traditionally in person at neutral venue but now often done online via a virtual meeting platform such as Teams or Zoom. The two parties agree a mediator or you can go to CEDR or the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Group to have one appointed.

During the mediation, a neutral third party, the mediator, assists the parties to reach a settlement by liaising between the parties. The mediator cannot impose a settlement on the parties and remains neutral throughout the process. It is therefore an assisted negotiation.

If the mediation fails because no solution can be reached, the parties are free to try another form of Alternative Dispute Resolution or to litigate. If an agreement is reached at mediation, the mediator will help both sides to produce and sign a binding contract recording the settlement.

The process of mediation

Mediation does not get you a determined outcome. The mediator is to help with negotiations. The mediator can be a go between different rooms/private meetings, and can quite often act as devil’s advocate, to ask difficult questions. They can help change the mindset of those in the dispute.

There are various different styles of mediators. Some mediators are more conciliatory and some more facilitative.

Both methods work in different situations. Sometimes you might need a mediator to tell you some hard home truths but on other occasions where a different approach would be required to help bring both sides to a resolution.

Why use Blake Morgan?

We have qualified in-house mediators as well as experienced and knowledgable mediation advocates who can advise you throughout a mediation process. They know mediators in the industry and often know their style. We help clients by using that expertise and experience to get the right mediator for your dispute and a result that works for all parties.

Part of the skill and experience that we bring is that we know how mediations work, we prepare our clients properly and we make sure they know what to expect. We ensure our clients are well prepared for mediations: knowing what to expect on the day and what information to have to hand is critical to a successful mediation outcome. Feedback that we have had is that our clients have loved the fact we told them how the day would go and that is exactly how it panned out.

The future of mediation

During the coronavirus pandemic a lot of mediations went virtual with continued success. Face-to-face and online mediations both have their merits. Online mediations can save on travel, costs and time. However, getting people in a room is a sign that they are committed to negotiating and can help with tackling thorny issues. Hybrid mediations with some people in the room and some only able to attend virtually could be the way forward. Different disputes will require different strategies. Speak to our mediation specialists if you are looking at mediation to resolve a dispute.