Mediation is an alternative to litigation that may be a more amicable and cost effective solution. Mediation can be used in a wide variety of legal disputes and, with the help of a Malvern mediation lawyer to help you to understand your rights, mediation can be a great way to come to an effective resolution.
Mediation involves a third party working together with two or more individuals who are involved in a dispute to attempt to facilitate the agreement to some type of resolution. Ultimately, the ability to resolve a dispute in mediation is going to rest in the hands of the people who are engaged in the legal argument.
While a mediator helps people communicate and compromise and does a great deal to help ensure mediation is successful, the mediator is not going to force the parties involved to do anything. This means if either party wants to walk away or to be unreasonable and refuse to come to an agreement, mediation is not likely to be successful.
Many people turn to mediation because they believe it will save them money or help them to stay on good terms, and these are good reasons to mediate disputes. However, there are certain situations in which mediation is a good fit and there are other times when it is not. A Malvern mediation lawyer can evaluate your case and help you determine if mediation is the best option.
When to Mediate
There are certain types of legal disputes where mediation may be a great choice. These typically include all types of disputes between family members. Whether dealing with custody issues, financial support issues, arguments in the family business, trust issues, or disagreements over wills and estates, mediation can help you to preserve family relationships and keep family information private instead of subjecting it to the public record in court. Because family members often have underlying positive feelings towards each other and are thus more willing to compromise or work together to come up with solutions, mediation often works well in these cases.
Mediation can also be an option in business disputes as well, especially if the business is going to continue operations. Mediation will allow the business to save money and assets, and may preserve a relationship between business partners; at least more so than litigation.
This is true whether the dispute is in regards to a family business or partners having a disagreement, or whether two different businesses are having a disagreement and wish to dispute it. A business and individual employee having a dispute may also mediate that dispute to avoid negative press and public attention, as well as the stress of a court case for the individual.
However, in order for mediation to be a good choice in these or other situations, you should consider whether it is likely that you will actually be able to form an agreement. If you cannot, then mediation is a waste of time and money.
In deciding whether it is likely you'll be able to form an agreement, consider the availability of the information you need to understand your legal rights (court orders for evidence such as financial records aren't going to be available from a mediator, for example). Consider also whether the party or parties involved are willing to listen and to be fair in coming up with a compromise. If one party is hiding things, abusive, or unwavering in his or her opinion on the matter, then mediation is unlikely to be effective.
When considering mediation, a Malvern mediation lawyer should be consulted to help you to determine if mediation is the best option and to assist you during the mediation process. Working with a lawyer to learn about your legal rights and what you may be entitled to can help set the stage for a successful mediation since you will not have unreasonable expectations about the type of resolution that mediation can help achieve.
To learn more about your rights and navigating the mediation process, contact a mediation lawyer in Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Seeking legal counsel from an experienced and qualified mediation attorney at Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, attorneys at law, can help you better understand your options. Contact us today to discuss your case at any one of our three offices – 1-610-692-1371, 1-610-933-8069 or 1-610-240-0750.
