What is Mediation and Alternate Dispute Resolution Anyway?
Mediation is part of a subject known as “alternate dispute resolution”; you probably have heard of arbitration, especially in professional sports and labor disputes. Arbitration is something “big business” and “big insurance” tries to foist on the public by requiring it in all sorts of “form contracts”. The goal often is to take away your right to a jury by your peers. But, from my experience, mediation does not have a “dark side” when properly done. It works great in family matters and personal injury and civil disputes. Not so, however, in criminal matters, where prosecution usually negotiate plea agreements without a “middle-man”. I prefer mediation where each party has a lawyer trained in mediation, where the mediator is an experienced attorney, and where “everything is on the table” and the parties address all disputed issues. When that wonderful combination occurs, and when the people, no matter how much at odds, are committed to the process, there is a very high success rate. Me
