What is Mediation?

Mediators are communication experts that help people in conflict meet and work together to have a focused, respectful, productive conversation with the goal of reaching agreements that meet the needs of all parties. They are adept at dealing with the emotions, assumptions and troubled communications that are often preventing people from reaching agreements on their own.

Think of a meeting where a highly skilled Chair was able to create an agenda that covered all the issues, managed the meeting in a way that was respectful and productive, and had everyone voice their hopes and concerns and provide input into the decisions that were made. This is what mediation looks like, except that the mediator does not have a stake in the outcomes, other than to ensure that the process has been fair, that everyone has been heard and that the decisions made are practical, durable, and meet everyone’s needs to the greatest extent possible.

Services

The highly-trained mediators at The Resolution Group are skilled in a variety of approaches, including interest-based and transformative mediation and negotiation. They will design a process that fits your specific situation, ensuring everyone has a voice at the table. At The Resolution Group, we help parties build understanding and create solutions that meet everyone’s needs and stand the test of time.

Workplace Mediation

Small Business and Family Business Mediation

Separation and Divorce Mediation

Frequently Asked Questions

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What are the advantages of mediation?
  • Mediation is private; none of your discussions or supporting documents become public.
  • Mediation is not an adversarial process. People are not pitted against one another, hoping to win at the expense of the other. People work together to figure out how best to resolve their issues and walk away satisfied with the solutions they have come up with. Many people who use mediation are able to protect and even rebuild their relationships so that they can work together in the future.
  • Mediation can be tailored to the needs of the parties. Some participants do not want to meet face-to-face. Mediators will work with the parties to design a process that is comfortable and safe for everyone.
  • While you might wait months to get a trial date, and that is after all the preliminary legal work, you can usually meet with a mediator within a couple of weeks and, if all parties are willing to participate, have the process in place soon after that. Mediation can last anywhere from a single 2-3 hour session to multiple sessions depending on the complexity of the issues and the parties’ situation.
  • The Meditation Summary can only contain those terms agreed to by the parties. The mediator will not impose any conditions or solutions.
  • The options from which the parties choose to resolve their conflict are endless. The parties have the power to create and choose their own solutions to the conflict, limited only by their imagination and sense of what is fair in the situation.
  • A Mediated Summary can be left as an informal agreements between the parties or can be made legally binding. Not everyone wants a contract or court order.
  • Mediation is cost effective. Our Mediation fees are often much less than those charged by other professionals. The streamlined, collaborative nature of mediation also means less billable hours.
How do I get started wtih mediation?

The first step is deciding you are willing to sit down with the other party and work things out. You don’t have to know how to do this, that is our job. 

When phoning The Resolution Group, you will be connected with one of our mediators who will answer any questions you may have and will ask questions to get an idea of the nature of your dispute, your goals for entering the mediation process and the other party’s interest in attending mediation. Fees and payment terms will be discussed in the initial phone call.

After the initial call, the mediator will set up confidential pre-mediation sessions with each party.  You will be provided with a copy of the Agreement to Mediate to review prior to your pre-mediation session.

Once both parties have completed their pre-mediation sessions, the mediator will schedule your first joint session at a time and date convenient for everyone involved. A mediation session is typically 2 to 3 hours and is focused on the agenda developed by the parties. Based on that agenda, the parties are supported in an open dialogue in which you can build an understanding of what matters to each of you and, from there, come up with agreements that work for all involved. If agreements are made and the dispute has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, the mediator will draft a Mediation Summary of your decisions. Often, parties will need more than one session to resolve more complex disputes. In those cases, the Mediation Summary will be completed after your final session.

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