A previous post on this blog talked about how mediation can be an attractive alternative to a business owner who finds himself or herself either needing to pursue a legal claim against another business or who is on the receiving end of a lawsuit related to a commercial or other business transaction.
While mediation certainly has its advantages, these have to be weighed carefully against the potential drawbacks. Moreover, mediation has to be suitable to the facts of a case and also at least not opposed to a business’s overall strategy both with respect to the particular dispute at hand and, more generally, as part of its overall plan for continued growth and profitability.
At our law office, while we certainly value the cost-savings and other advantages mediation can offer, we are by no means automatic when recommending it. Instead, we look carefully at our client’s situation in order to help them determine whether mediation is right for them, or whether another option might be better.
We also look at the nuts and bolts of how a mediation works, such as when the mediation will take place and who will serve as the mediator. These sorts of questions can determine the outcome of a mediation in that the answer to them can be the difference between getting a reasonable resolution to a case as opposed to either a failed mediation or, worse, one that leaves our client holding the short end of the stick.
Even once mediation is determined to be an appropriate legal route, we make sure that our clients are well-prepared for the mediation so that their side of the story gets considered and, if there is an agreement reached, all the important details are covered.
