A most agreeable result

For some a “day in Court” is a terrifying prospect whilst for others it is their only aim. The fear can be that of having to go to Court or that of spiralling costs. The aim can be to inflict as much financial damage, stress and inconvenience on the other party as is possible. Indeed in relation to litigation Abraham Lincoln in 1850 observed that “…the nominal winner is often the real loser”. But it does not have to be this way.  Mediation is a familiar idea in other walks of life and is a legitimate and encouraged alternative to Court.

The Civil Procedure Rules have been in force since 1998 and were a first major overhaul of the civil Court procedures aimed at speeding up and simplifying justice. These rules positively encourage “the parties to use alternative dispute resolution” (mediation being such an alternative).

It is widley acknowldged that the settlement of actions by the means of mediation accomplishes many things including saving litigants the ever mounting costs of going to trial, the unavoidable delays that occur with litigation, the ability to keep a commercial agreement in place and offers a wider and more flexible range of solutions.

Mediation naturally requires a mediator. Such a person is independent and has had training in how to encourage parties to find a mutually agreeable solution in a short space of time (normally only a day is needed). The mediator choreographs a discussion with an aim to agreement rather than marshalling confrontations between expensive advocates. The speed of mediation and the lack of confrontation in Court naturally lends itself to swift and cost-effective resolution to disputes.

March 2007