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Writer's pictureEd Johnson

Mediation news, cheap mediation?

With the continued backlog of cases mediation is now more than ever the best choice to find a resolution for your dispute.  Get your dispute resolved now so you can really concentrate on what’s important and what deserves your time and energy.


Northwest Mediation continues to use Zoom, Skype and FaceTime as well as the phone and emails to resolve disputes should we add we also do live in person mediation too!  So please do not feel that you cannot contact us if you would like to mediate but wish to do so remotely.


I got to do some more lecturing this week as part of my work with Staffordshire Mediation Ltd, the third year family law students were engaging and I hope engaged in the two hour sessions which covered MIAMs and then a little taster of probate mediation.


Their reaction and engagement (and tricky questions) reminded me of the growth of mediation and how, when I was a law student back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, mediation did not even warrant a passing mention let alone an actual optional module, well done Manchester Uni!


And how go things in the world of mediation, with Family Mediation Awareness week fast approaching it’s not a shock to find more mediation in the news both local and around the world.

Speaking of student mediators here’s another bunch of eager young people being taught the methods and theory of mediation.  At Madison Junior High school 8th graders were being learning the skills of mediation as part of their early years education.


I can’t think of a better skill to learn than active listening and working towards a solution rather than towards a “win” so long may such projects continue.

Over in Ohio a “turnkey” (ready to go) online mediation solution is being offered by “Equivant” for family law cases (initially) with the intention to widen the scope of the online system to other areas of dispute.


Online solutions I don’t mind I worry about AI mediation, too much of what we do needs a personal connection, engaging with people is easier for people than Siri or Alexa or whichever bot turns up next.  And yes that view is slightly altered by my experience of AI therapy (in person was so much better than the bot), feelings are at the core of being human and whilst I appreciate that AI can mimic that is all it can do, until and unless a positronic brain becomes a real thing, and that’s a whole other discussion.

Still in the US (yes President Elect Puerto Rico is one of your territories) and the mediators dealing with Puerto Rico’s energy debt – which is estimated at $9 billion – say that a solution may be years away. The parties involved are so far apart and the ability to produce payments so unlikely that working out a deal whether by debt forgiveness or payments or a mix of both plus some outside the box thinking sounds to be very many years away at the moment. 


However things change in mediation all the time.


As you will have read before some cases I have dealt with which have been rumbling on for years get to mediation and find themselves settling in a day.

 

The three pillars of mediation remain it’s voluntary (at the moment), it’s confidential, the mediator is impartial and independent, by using those pillars to support your work the parties keep control, save costs, save time and energy and reduce stress. 


In person or via electronic media as we’ve said before choose to mediate early and resolve your issues effectively, timeously, and with less stress and costs than going to your solicitor so you can get out choose a different path, not quite the road less travelled but perhaps the path less adversarial. You have an interest in the outcome the sooner you get round the mediation table the quicker you can move forward and avoid the grilling a cross examination in court would put you through.


By having a deep and meaningful discussions with parties the mediator elicits what the true “red-lines” are and where there is the potential for compromise, it is with this structured period of reflection that the parties are then able to reach an accord.


The flexible nature of mediation and the possible outcomes make it an ideal way to resolve disputes in an ever-changing world and the open nature of discussions in mediation whilst remaining confidential allows all sides to engage fully in the process and understand the needs of all involved allowing parties to reach a conclusion which both sides can live with and move on.


There are so many situations which could have been resolved by early intervention of mediation it continues to surprise me the lengths the public will go to avoid referral.


Whether you need a mediator to help out with a construction matter in the Northwest, or council’s plans in Cheshire, a civil mediator in London, a commercial mediator in Manchester, a dispute resolution for your family in Liverpool, a neighbourhood mediation in Stockport, then our mediators at Northwest Mediation can help.


Mediation is cheaper, quicker and less stressful than running any case to court, it can help with any dispute whether it's an employment issue or the sale at an under value of a property, a fight with a neighbour, family issues, commercial disputes, civil mediation or inheritance, wills and probate arguments contact me at Northwest Mediation on 0161 667 4418 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk

neighbour mediation; commercial dispute resolution; civil mediation; commercial dispute; corporate dispute; commercial mediator; family mediation; inheritance wills probate mediation; property mediator; civil mediator; civil litigation; fast track mediation; injury mediation

Yeah I put cheap in the title to test run some searches!

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