When I talk about NWM, I mean Northwest Mediation, my mediation business which helps you and your business with disputes you’ve got with contracts, property disputes, family members, inheritance and other civil litigation.
However there is another NWM the Nordic Women Mediators and this November sees the meeting of the five branches of that NWM.
So as not to cause confusion I’m not attending the meeting (although it is only open to members) so I will miss their discussions on women in mediation and peacebuilding focusing on the Syrian peace process.
I wish our name sake well in their reflection on involving women in all levels of decision making which has been organised by the Danish NWM’s operator the Centre of Resolution of International Conflicts.
Remember a few weeks ago I blogged about the NHL going to mediation to resolve numerous complaints by retired and current players? They were bringing claims based upon the league’s failure to protect them from the long lasting effects of head injury during their play in various teams.
Over 100 former players looking for a total in excess of $18 million had agreed o take the case to mediation.
It now seems like that shrewd move has paid off and settlement is within reach (95% done anyone?).
The settlement is said to include cash payments for all players, a fund set up for testing current players and former players to check for injury and a further fund to pay for treatment for anyone showing positive signs of brain damage.
This was not a class action as the presiding judge had determined the state laws varied too much to allow this to happen, other players may now bring cases under the same headings, hopefully those cases will go straight to mediation and save everyone the stress and cost of the court proceedings.
In Islamabad over 31,000 tax cases are being referred to mediation, the Federal Board of Revenue announced this week.
Alternative dispute resolution committees will be set up to handle the mass of cases with those which attract criminal proceedings being removed and dealt with through the normal criminal process.
The committees will be able to call expert witness evidence, direct revenue staff and resolve issues in a manner which binds both the revenue and the tax payer. Over 1000 cases including tax valued in the hundreds of billions are to be dealt with by the committees.
Should you have any problems with HMRC do consider asking for their mediation service or asking us to conduct mediation between you and HMRC, they are always keen to find a way forward with people willing to try and resolve issues.
Mediation remains voluntary in the UK for all civil disputes but in Turkey the law for employment disputes requires attendance at mediation by claimants before they bring a claim.
This is similar to the manner in which the Civil Mediation Council and Northwest Mediation would like to be brought in to the pre-action protocols for all civil claims in the UK, mediation and ADR do feature, they are supposed to be considered by all parties at all stages but the reality is the requirements have little impact (despite the many cases where failing to mediate has led to costs penalties).
Whilst Turkey’s legal system may not be the exemplar of process and procedure it has at least int his aspect gone further than the UK will go at the moment.
It’s a short blog this week as I’ve been at our local underfunded NHS hospital with one of my kids (it’s all ok thanks for asking) but even while enjoying a fine cup of over priced coffee in the canteen I was able to talk to a few people about the benefits of mediation, not merely within the NHS but in their lives in general.
It still surprises me that despite all the case law there are clients going to solicitors for claims and complaints which could be more readily (by which I mean quickly and cheaply) dealt with by mediators.
Don’t get me wrong with my other hat on as a lawyer I’ll happily represent clients who come to me but every one of them will be given the chance to go to mediation to resolve their complaint, those that don’t often end up with a result they could have reached through mediation but at a price in costs, time and stress that they could have avoided by taking the very sensible step of turning to mediation.
Whether you need a mediator to help out with the council’s plans in Cheshire, a commercial mediator in London, an employment mediator in Manchester, a dispute resolution for your family in Liverpool, a neighborhood 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 or inheritance arguments contact Northwest Mediation on 07931318347 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk
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