Can an agency use its own in-house personnel as a mediator?
Yes. Many agencies have employees who have the training and qualifications described in the Governmental Dispute Resolution Act and the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Act. Those agencies do sometimes use them as mediators. In many conflicts, however, the additional degree of comfort secured by using a third-party neutral from an outside source such as SOAH contributes to the success of the mediation. Particularly if one of the parties to the dispute is from outside the agency, it may be difficult for that party to trust the impartiality of a mediator who is a part of the agency with whom s/he has a conflict. Even when the dispute involves two employees of the same agency, using a third-party neutral from an outside source may increase the perception, and perhaps the reality, of impartiality. Participants may also have greater trust in the confidentiality of the process when an outside mediator is used. The trust and confidence that already exists, or that develops, between partic
