How will you know you have developed an agreement at the end of the mediation?

The resolution of a dispute does not just occur on the day of the mediation. Each participant to mediation needs to prepare their own strategy for negotiation in the settlement. Based on my experience as a mediator, these are a collection of tasks each participant needs to complete and to discuss with their council and the mediator before the mediation.

These tasks and the discussion with the mediator are confidential. They are confidential under both Attorney Client privilege and under mediation confidential provisions in court rules, statutes, and standards.

How will you know you have developed an agreement at the end of the mediation?

What objective criteria could you use with the other parties to the mediation to develop a fair and constructive voluntary agreement to settle the matter?

Mediation is not “splitting the baby” or just splitting the difference between the parties. But it is composed of hard negotiations between the parties. It is important to begin constructing for yourself just what a voluntary agreement between the parties would look like. Remember each party will be doing the same, so each will have to believe that the settlement is fair to them as well.

About the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator. He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment. He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.