Reasons to Mediate | Benefits of Mediation | Finding Arizona Mediation

Mediation is often not well understood, but it's rising in popularity due to reduced time it takes to come to a decision on a dispute, lower costs, more satisfactory results and better interpersonal and business relationships going forward.

The next time you get into a dispute, consider mediation as your solution.  You'll find that you can usually settle arguments with a little help, without going to court, and you can even use your attorney if you really want to.

Laws vary from state to state, but the benefits of mediation rarely change:

• Reduced fees with a mediator - anywhere from 10-20% the cost it would take to pay for an attorney and court costs.
• More satisfactory results. Mediation cuts to the core of the desired results, allowing both sides to get what they want. The amazing thing about mediation is that the more complex the dispute, the more likely an agreement can be made.
• More direct results - Going to court involves a lot of posturing, preparing and scheduling with multiple steps. Mediation allows you to forgo all of that and get right to what is wanted. This saves time and puts everyone's cards on the table.
• Mediation doesn't inhibit your ability to go to court or use an attorney - Your attorney is more than welcome and invited to help you negotiate terms in mediation, and if you do reach an impasse, you can just walk away from mediation with no effect on your court case. As an added benefit, mediation is confidential, and the proceedings are not permissible in court.
• If you do reach an agreement, you will find that if you work or live with the other party in the future, your ability to discuss issues before they become conflicts will grow and help you diffuse disputes in the future.
  

Mediation is often referred to as “Guided Negotiation” Sometimes you know what you want, but aren't sure how to ask for it, or are afraid that once out of your mouth, you can't get a position back. Sometimes you are overwhelmed and simply looking to settle, or find a position that allows you to fulfill an obligation without being buried in interest or further obligations. Sometimes, you need someone to level the playing field. And sometimes, you just need someone to walk you through the process.

Whether you're a seasoned negotiator, are new to the game, or simply want someone to organize the proceedings and keep everything on an even keel, mediators are specially trained and completely unbiased to allow your negotiations to run smoothly, staying on track and not getting mired down by unnecessary byplay. Mediators help prevent one side from getting too much time to speak, and they keep track of everything so that you are free to continue on to new business knowing that old business is recorded and taken care of.

With mediation, you are free to spin out several potential agreements, figure out what is in both parties best interests, and, if both parties are willing, come to an agreement based on mutual benefit. Even if both parties don't come to an agreement, you have a better understanding of your positions and the issues that you are taking into consideration, should you go on to arbitration, court, or further mediations.

One of the best reasons to mediate is when couples are divorcing. You got married out of love - if you have to separate, at least be willing to listen to each other and sort out your lives by your own terms rather than by going to court.

Divorce mediation facilitates the process to get out cleanly, rather than complicating the process by digging in and trying to do damage, which only costs more money, time and energy.

Who knows, you might even be civil enough in the future to schedule for child custody and support, and have a contact instead of burning bridges.

Divorce is difficult and complex, but this is actually a benefit when mediating due to the ability to sort out important issues from merely incidental ones. Divorce mediation can help with every aspect of the process, and mediators are usually paired with attorneys and financial professionals to smooth out legal wrinkles and financial issues.

Divorce mediators have checklists for issues that you may not have thought of, and when divorcing, details matter. Also, by taking any predatory intent out of the equation, a separating couple can focus on who gets what, rather than who's going to get it in the neck.

Divorce is hardest on the children, and having a trained mediator, preferably one who has experience in child and family matters, makes it easier to consider divorce terms taking children into consideration, planning schedules and setting up terms for who gets custody when, and who pays child support and to what degree. There are a lot of small details that can go unnoticed without a mediator to help guide through the details.

Just like with child custody, aging parents can also suffer when a couple separates, where supervision and costly medical care are immediate necessities. Having a mediator walk you though all the steps, and discovering all the details, in concert with a financial professional who can analyze costs of care and potential manipulation of IRA accounts, pensions and the like is critical.

When most people think of mediation, they think of business applications, and for good reason.  There are myriad reasons why employees, employers, managers, contractors, residents, HOAs, landlords and customers get into conflicts with each other, and more often than not, having an opportunity to speak clearly and explain an issue allows both parties to come to a decision.  These decisions might include payment for damages, additional work to fix a problem, new policies, postponement of charges, interest or legal action, or a new agreement that suits both parties so they can move forward.

A common dispute between employees and employers is discrimination, be it racial, sexual, religious, or age or disability related.  Conflicts can arise due to a lack of fairness in pay, harassment, inadequate facilities or other issues.

The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) received over 90,000 discrimination charges in 2008, over 12,000 of which went to mediation, with a 72.1% success rate.  These cases didn't have to go to court, and the charging parties received monetary compensation, change at work, or both to compensate for their charges.

Since 1999, the EEOC has generated over 70,000 resolutions out of over 111,000 charges.  Mediation has been working very well for them and encourage it for all employment disputes, even those that aren't about equal opportunity violations.

The typical disputes between a landlord and a tenant regard failure to pay rent, damage and rules violations.  Often, residents hide when pressed by a landlord, especially when late on the rent.  Landlord's tend to respond, sometimes a bit hastily, with eviction.

A quick thinking landlord will invite a tenant who is behind to discuss their financial situation and make arrangements to stay on top of rent and fees so that the entire complex can get the services they need.  (More than just profit potential, rent goes to important and expensive features that other tenants enjoy).

On the other hand, when a tenant has a dispute with the landlord and wants to sue due to their rights being violated, mediation again can solve the problem, by allowing the tenant to express grievances and find a way for the landlord to work out a solution.

The landlord/tenant relationship is often portrayed as an adversarial one, but due to the close knit communities that many apartments or houses are, it can be a more community experience, which mediation fit in with hand in hand.

Landlords also fit into this category, because not only do they have to give and receive satisfaction from residents, they also have to work with contractors and others who do work for or provide services for the complex or HOA.

Disputes with contractors who have to paint, maintain lawns and pools, provide repairs or accents, repair parking lots and streets and many other factors are common. HOAs run on tight budgets, and can't afford to pay out to contractors who can't or won't get the job done. Time is also critical, and residents who feel they aren't getting the money worth from their dues can complicate HOA operations.

On the other hand, contractors have to make a living, and not getting paid puts a damper not only on making a profit, but also on buying and maintaining materials and other factors.

Common conflicts include how and when to pay for services, and satisfaction with those services. HOAs have a delicate balance between expecting payment from residents, and using that money effectively with contractors. As the ultimate middlemen, they have a difficult job, and conflict can arise regularly.

Similarly with landlords, HOAs have to deal with disputes with residents that don't follow the rules, cause damage or harass other residents (adding an additional layer of conflict).

Multiple antagonists can complicate any matter, but mediators excel in organizing problems, encouraging parties to find their priorities, and then working out a solution that is tenable and agreeable to everyone.

Business to Business can benefit from mediators on hand as well.  Any contract, business agreement or proposal is only successful if everyone feels they are winning in the deal.  Not every deal can be win-win, but mediators help organize the highest priorities, and help both sides pursue what is most important to them.

I'm fond of saying that the more complex the deal, the easier it is to negotiate.  When you have something to give, and do it in good faith, it's much easier to get what you want. 

Sometimes impasses are inevitable, but having a mediator on hand who is looking out for the process, rather than one side's interests (that's your job), means that the process can move forward without bogging down on any given detail.  Mediators keep negotiations moving so potential roadblocks can be analyzed later in light of further moves, and eventually, seemingly impossible knots become untangled.

Mediation is also called guided negotiation.  Both parties know how to negotiate and know what they want - mediators simply guide the proceedings along so that a momentary catch or emotional outburst doesn't ruin hours (or days/weeks) of careful negotiations.