THE ESSENTIALS OF MEDIATION

If you are involved in a property, or commercial dispute here are a several tips that will help you.

1. Mediation is a voluntary, consent based process. Except for family, and estate disputes, and civil conflicts where lawsuits have been filed in Ottawa, Toronto or Windsor,  the law does not require mediation.
2. This means that in any other disputes you can go to mediation if you want to.  And if having started mediation, you feel that it is not working for you, you can discontinue the process at any time.
3. Remember the mediator you jointly select is a neutral third party who is there to facilitate settlement. The mediator is never a decision maker. He or she is there to guide you to settlement if possible.
4. As a rule of thumb, a mediation will more likely settle if the parties are truly motivated to turn the page, not blame one another and look for creative solutions to their dispute.
5. The promise of mediation is simply this. You and the other parties to the dispute get to set your own terms of settlement. Unlike arbitration and court trials, no one else orders you to do anything.
6. Whatever deal you make, is your deal. No one else gets to make the decision for you.