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.
Dynamic pricing for mediation? Well sort of, if you want weekends or evenings we charge more but that’s it.
Of course one of the many drawbacks of becoming busy is that I blog less so you, dear reader, miss the joy of me ranting about the benefits of mediation.
We start this week with the end of a mediation with the union Communications Workers of America withdrawing from the process without an agreement on future terms.
The union which represents thousands of communication workers who connect the US to the internet (et al) said that the company (AT&T) we using mediation as a stalling tactic and not being genuine in any efforts.
It’s always a hard question to answer is a delay a tactic or is it genuinely an issue of timing and availability, it happens a lot in family mediation where both parents have the children on whatever day you suggest, the normal breakthrough is by asking what they plan to do if their dispute goes to court – suddenly a child minder is found or time off work is allowed.
I did a recent probate case where due to my, counsel’s or the parties’ scheduling difficulties we only managed to meet after several months of dates being thrown around. The case had lasted a=over a decade and it was resolved in a long, long day, but the parties never once suggested that delay was a tactic no one was running the other out of funds or time but I often felt that there was an edge being sought by delay, the trick was never to rise to the inference or allow one or other party to pick up my own suspicions so we managed to resolve everything after a day of talking, listening and working together with a common goal of ending all the disputes between the family members.
And a lovely piece from South Africa about mediation being better utilised to limit “dodgy lawyers” (their words not mine) from “milking” the health service in mal practice (clin neg) actions.
It appears to be a bit of a mess, with the costs charged to the health service being nearly half it’s overall spend since 2015 and with some patient/claimants not even being aware of the cases being brought, it smells a little like the old RTA whiplash cases from this distance. The few of those cases which were fraudulent, and nit was never as many as claimed, led to the death of the claimant industry in the UK so I wonder if something similar will now happen in SA with clin neg, I would hope not as those cases where genuine restitution is needed should still proceed and perhaps it is no surprise that mediation is seen as a potentially sensible way to deal with the issues.
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
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