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 so you can 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.
Having your significant other go into hospital suddenly should really put things in perspective, whenever a difficult situation arises how we react to it can either help or hinder the situation.
I confess my go to is panic followed by anger and then the normal grief progress through denial to acceptance, I’m not quite there yet with the wife’s illness and the changes it means for us as a family but we’ll get there.
Obviously for someone who spends their days talking to other people about how they react to their situation and, generally, how things outside of their control can be dealt with in a better way it’s a little bit of physician heal thyself.
Away from difficulties here mediation continues apace in the outside world.
First this week the reminder that although I do work a lot with families during break ups I also work with families in the wider sense both in mediations after death (generally disputes over inheritance) I do also work with families who in dispute about the care of elderly relatives. These are often emotionally difficult for all concerned especially if the parent or family member has dementia and is unable to play a pivotal role in their own decisions.
This article is really a discussion of what the writer terms “elder mediation”, to me it’s family mediation just of a different sort to the “usual” contact and finance on divorce. It helps that I’m dual qualified as a civil mediator as well because the methods used in civil often have as much place to play in this type of dispute.
The confidentiality of mediation really assists in these cases the parties can (and do) say many things to me and each other often times letting the emotion out is necessary before we can get down to decision making, and more often than not the history of the disputes between family members has a part to play that would never come up in court but needs addressing to allow parties to reach agreement.
Over in Nigeria the honourable Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, has urged doctors due to go on strike in Abuja to delay matters whilst mediation is attempted.
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) are due to begin action after previously suspending the walk out over a demand for 200% pay increase (yeah read that Rishi Sunak, our doctors just want to be back where they were 10 years ago).
Abbas has acknowledged the sacrifices made by the doctors (including that they have stuck around when others have gone off in search of better pay and conditions abroad – I mean if none of this sounds familiar maybe watch the news on a channel without G or B in the title) and that the House is prepared to work with the doctors and unions to find a way forward through mediation.
It’s Fed-Ex pilots in mediation over in the US with the current proposals having been rejected 43% to 57% (of just under 5000 voting members).
FedEx ALPA chair captain Chris Norman released a statement saying “Our members have spoken and we will now regroup and prepare for the next steps. In the coming weeks, the FedEx ALPA leadership will meet to establish a timeline for assessing pilot group priorities moving forward…FedEx pilots remain unified and that will drive a new path that will help produce an agreement that all FedEx pilots will be proud to support."
The National Mediation Board will now arrange a meeting with both parties to try and find a framework to move discussions forward.
Fed-Ex meanwhile released their own statement referring to the previous tentative agreement which had been put to the vote mentioned above “The tentative agreement voting results have no impact on our service as we continue delivering for our customers around the world…The parties will return to negotiations under the supervision of the National Mediation Board. While we are disappointed in these voting results, FedEx will continue to bargain in good faith with our pilots to achieve an agreement that is fair for all FedEx stakeholders.”
And I can’t not mention this bit of news, all small claims (that’s anything up to the value of £10,000) will be obligated to attend mediation dealt with by the Courts and Tribunals free service.
It’s not great news for mediators, having a free to use service takes away work from us but it is at least a sensible move for reducing case numbers, perhaps rather than waiting for the cases to be issued and get to directions stage the court should really be looking for parties to attend mediation BEFORE issue (like a MIAM in family).
I’ve only been told of the poor experiences clients had from the free service, but you get what you pay for and given the general level of staffing (and experience of those employed) in the courts system I can’t imagine it's going to go well.
The three pillars of mediation remain it’s voluntary (at the moment), 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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