What is mediation?

Video Transcription

Interviewer: What is mediation?

Atty. Donig: Mediation is a process where the parties in good faith attempt to resolve and settle their differences without resorting to a trial or arbitration or some other proceeding where the final result is left in the hands of a judge or a juror or an arbitrator, or someone else. In mediation, you have control, together with the other side, of how your case and if your case is resolved. It is done in a mediation which is facilitated by a person who is called the mediator. The mediator is supposed to be and invariably is a person who is very well trained in the art of helping the parties figure out how to resolve their differences. I won’t go into the details, but there are a lot of tools. I wanna call it tricks, but maybe tricks of the trade is a proper phrase. There are a lot of tools at the disposal of the mediator that he can use or she can use to assist the parties and again, it’s the parties not the mediator. To assist the parties in figuring out how they can resolve their case, reach a settlement, shake hands, and walk away, everybody reasonably satisfied. I hardly recommend the mediation process. I, myself have used it on behalf of my clients probably hundreds of times and almost always do we find it to be a successful manner of resolving disputes.