Offering Mediation Dispute Resolution Services
The most important thing you need to know about the dispute resolution and mediation or arbitration services offered by our law firm is that during these proceedings, our attorney John S. Lawrence, Jr., isn’t representing you as a lawyer but as a neutral, third-party facilitator. The purpose of mediation or arbitration services is to create a dialogue where the parties are free to express views, concerns, gripes, and conflicts in a structured environment that is mostly neutral ground.
The mediator’s job is to be familiar with the issues and sticking points and to guide the discussion along these topics in a proactive way to prevent the entire meeting and discourse from turning into an argument or a harsh confrontation. However, people are human and once parties are attending a mediation, there are emotional and personal issues still involved that have to be addressed as concisely as possible to move the process forward.
To that end, the mediator can set set ground rules, organize private breakout sessions (caucuses), and manage the flow of the negotiation. The parties should be aware that a mediator is not allowed by law to provide legal advice to either party throughout the discussion. However, the parties attending are allowed to bring their own attorneys to advise them along the way.
It is also not the job of the mediator to bring the mediation or arbitration to a settlement or to make a ruling. That is left to the decision of the parties as to whether or not they are ready to resolve their issues with clearly defined settlement terms. If the parties do reach an agreement, the mediator often helps write down the terms of the settlement (or directs the parties’ lawyers to draft them) for signatures. Mediation or arbitration discussions, as well as the terms of the settlement are under the confidentiality rules of the Uniform Mediation Act, similar to attorney-client privilege.