Why mediation?
The main advantages are that it is a very short process (lasting from a few hours to a day), low-cost, private and has few rules. it is very easy to set up – all the parties need to do is decide who they want to appoint as the mediator and once the proposed mediator has accepted appointment (mediation is usually before a single mediator) the process can commence.
Lawyers do not need to be involved, especially for low-level disputes (in more complex cases, parties do involve their lawyers in mediation but this may not be necessary). Mediation has been made even more accessible during Covid times when many mediations are conducted online using platforms like Zoom and Teams, which helps to streamline the process significantly.
Also, because mediation is private and confidential, nothing said at the mediation meeting can be disclosed outside of the process, nor can any statements made in the mediation be used in any dispute between the parties unless they agree. This means that the parties are free to talk through the mediator and to make admissions and concessions without worrying these will then be used against them in any legal proceedings. Indeed the fact that mediation took place (even a failed one) is private to the parties who cannot even disclose this to a judge in legal proceedings between the same parties unless all the parties to mediation agree.
One question often asked about mediation is “Why do I need this process when I can just negotiate myself with the counter party?” There are several reasons: the parties are often unable to communicate easily due to their history (i.e being in dispute with each other) and in many cases they have already tried and failed to negotiate; the mediator is acting as a go between thereby enabling the parties to speak openly with the mediator who (where permitted by the parties) may convey their position to the other party; and since the mediator is not “bound up” in the dispute, it enables the parties to engage but without any (or with much less) emotion and tension.
