Mediation

Why choose Mediation?

Mediation is entirely voluntary, can reduce the time and costs involved in settling disputes, and helps to control risks. But the parties must come to mediation willing to compromise and determined to find a mutually agreeable solution to their dispute.

Other benefits of Mediation include:

• Being an effective means of resolving dispute through tailored party representation
• Parties retain full control of the process themselves
• A Mediator will take a facilitative or evaluative approach, without possessing or asserting the authority to bind either parties to an agreement
• The entire process remains confidential and enables both parties to continue a commercial relationship following the procedure since they remain in control of their dispute

The format

A standard Mediation will usually take place over a half day or a full day, beginning with a joint session where parties will be invited to give an account of their grievances.

Depending upon circumstances the parties will then be invited to join the mediator on an individual basis to fully assess their respective cases and potentially draw-up settlement proposals. If a settlement is not agreed at this stage, all parties will usually come together again for a concluding joint session.

An agreement through Mediation is not binding and parties involved should make a written record of their settlement agreement in order for that agreement to become binding.

Party representation

Davies and Davies are highly-experienced in representing parties through the Mediation process.

A key benefit of Mediation is that it doesn’t focus on legal rights of conflicting parties, but rather takes a flexible approach whereby an agreement is reached based on the individual needs of the parties. A settlement will not determine who is right or wrong, nor will it decide on a ‘winner’, but it can provide what the formal dispute resolution procedures can’t. Instead the Mediator will support the parties in determining a resolution that all involved can reasonably agree on without escalating the case to formal legal dispute resolution.

Parties are usually responsible for their own costs and equally responsible for the Mediator’s fees, regardless of the settlement reached.