Mediation v. Litigation

MEDIATION: A voluntary settlement process to help you resolve disputes. Mediation is an informal process where a mediator helps people with a dispute to reach an agreement. The mediation process identifies important issues, clarifies misunderstandings, explores solutions, and negotiates settlement.

The mediator is not a judge and does not make a decision or impose a solution on the dispute. Rather, the mediator helps those involved in the dispute talk to each other, thereby allowing them to resolve the dispute themselves. The mediator manages the mediation session and remains impartial.

LITIGATION:  the act, process, or practice of settling a dispute in a court of law. When a party chooses to litigate, thhis can be time consuming, emotionally draining, expensive, and unpredictable.  

Successful mediation benefits participants:

• People keep control over the resolution of their own problem.
• Disputes can be settled promptly. A mediation session can be scheduled as soon as everyone agrees to use mediation to resolve the dispute, even before a lawsuit may be filed.
• Mediation costs are significantly less than taking a case to trial.
• Mediation promotes better relationships through cooperative problem-solving and improved communication.
• Mediation is private and confidential. The mediator and the people in the dispute must maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed during mediation.
• Mediation is voluntary. Although a judge may order a case to proceed to mediation, the mediation may be terminated at any time by the people involved or by the mediator. Settlement is also entirely voluntary. If you cannot reach an agreement, you still have the right to take the dispute before a judge or jury.