With the continued backlog of cases mediation is even more so now than ever the best choice to find a resolution for your dispute. Get your dispute resolved now while you can’t go anywhere 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.
Another half year has gone and what have you done? (why wait until Christmas to ask, Mr Lennon?). Sat around worrying about the neighbour dispute or the consumer issue? Argued with the family over an inheritance problem? Quit your job? Or simply fumed at the delays and cost of taking any matter to court (be it family or civil)? Here’s an idea bring your issue to me in mediation and we’ll get it sorted in a day or two not months, not at huge expense but actually quickly and conveniently.
Don’t be afraid to ask, I talk for free (except when lecturing) and you’re never committed to the process until you want to be. One thing is for certain the longer you leave referring to mediation with me the more time and energy you’ll waste on a problem which can be solved. Life’s too short to spend energy on disputes you don’t need, call me let’s see how we can work it out (and we’re back to Lennon).
One of the hardest issues to deal with as a parent is when your child is ill, in some cases it is a dispute between parents on what’s best for the child, often I see this when parents have already split up, for some it’s what contributes to the split.
But when the dispute is between parents and medical professionals without intervention the matters can escalate and end up in costly lengthy battles, as seen in Best Interests starring the excellent Sharon Horgan and superlative Michael Sheen.
This article discuses the use of mediation in similar circumstances and the publication or withholding of the data and estimates that 44 out of 83 cases which were litigated could have been dealt with in mediation. If half of all medical disputes in these cases could be dealt with more cost effectively, quicker and with less stress for everyone involved not only do the parents win, the child wins and the NHS wins in less wasted time at court and with lawyers and more helping the sick. With the NHS strained beyond belief thanks to continuous cuts by HMG mediation has to be a way forward.
I’ll go further I’ll reduce my fees by 10% for any dispute involving the NHS (whether it be child treatment related or not). It’s not a lot of support but it’s better than clapping.
For the flip-side of the assessment of these figures see this article.
And in other cases (as shown in this article) there’s an 80% success rate in matrimonial mediation, it’s a piece of advertising for an American mediation practice (Reape Rickett Law Firm) but the points it makes are the ones I repeat each week, flexibility, accessibility, speed and cost all work for parents in mediation where the opposite is the case for court processes.
The nod to the creativity involved in mediation which is not permitted in court processes is also worthy of note, the number of times clients ask “can we do..” and the answer is generally yes you can reach whatever agreement you like provided you do so openly having reviewed all the evidence and are not being coerced or forced in any way.
80% may sound high, my rate is in the high 80s or low 90s depending on whether I include civil and family and those matters which settled almost immediately after mediation but in any event it’s a high hit rate and clearly others experience the same sort of results as well.
I was going to avoid the war this week but suggesting that Belarus’ dictator Lukashenko was acting as mediator (cf “honest broker”) was a bit hard to ignore.
He definitely wasn’t a mediator, no interest in the outcome? When he’s heading up arguably a puppet state of Vlad Putin’s? Bit of a stretch but then it was Lukashenko’s own claim so don’t be too shocked.
There was a collective holding of breath when the news came out that there was an armed force on the march towards Moscow and that Putin had allegedly fled in his jet out of the area, sadly it came to nothing and the war continues but hopefully if all the current reporting is correct it is evidence of a power base at risk and potential beginning of the end for Vlad’s rule.
I don’t pretend there are easy answers (sorry no 'likely to happen easy answers' “full withdrawal by Russia is simple) and eventually some form of mediation will find a solution but whether it is with Vlad still in power seems increasingly impossible (and if I’m honest hopefully unlikely).
Over in Norway mediation has commence with the offshore drilling firms we mentioned a couple of weeks ago.
I struggle as I said before when it comes to fossil fuels I’d be happy for them to stop now for good, those clean air days during covid were amazing if for very grim reasons and probably bought the planet a few extra days before catastrophe finally hits. But if we are going to keep using fossil fuels for now then we need to ensure that any disputes arising are dealt with efficiently and absolutely that means mediation, if only to avoid another excuse for price increases.
The three pillars of mediation remain it’s voluntary, it’s confidential, the mediator is independent, by using those pillars to support your work the parties keep control, save costs, save time and energy and reduce stress. Finally this one is mediation, mediator jointly appointed, areas of discussion agreed and intention to be bound by the outcome.
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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