There is a time and a place for court cases. There is a time and a place for a Judge to decide what is best and right for the parties locked in litigation.

However, there are far more times and places for mediation. And judges agree with this bold statement…..because any lawyer will tell you that before a judge sits down to commence a trial in a court of law, that judge will ask the parties if they have tried to mediate. And many times, if the parties answer “no”, the judge instructs them to go away and mediate first, and only return to fight in a court of law if the mediation has failed.

The cost of litigation is very, very high. Lawyers joke that they are the only ones making money through litigation, while the parties pour away their hard-earned cash into the process. At the end of it, a judge declares one party right and the other party wrong. The “winner” feels smug until he works out how much money he has spent on being declared right. (And contrary to popular belief, the winner never recoups it all from the loser). The “loser” has nothing to show for the process except an empty bank account.

Lawyers are not the enemy, by the way, even if they can be expensive. They can serve a vital role during mediation, helping advise on the legal ramifications of proposed agreements, and helping implement an agreement once finalized.

The real enemy is the inadequacy of the world’s legal systems in terms of cost and outcome. The cost of going to court is prohibitive. And that is putting it politely. And the outcome is that a complete stranger, (who may mean well and have a sharp set of brains in her head, granted), but who knows nothing of the underlying interests driving your particular dispute, gets to decide what is best for you. And best for your business, and family, and future.? Does that make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.

What actually makes sense is that you get to figure out, and then decide, and then implement – in a way that is right for you and your concerns – an agreement that actually addresses all parties’ underlying concerns. For way, way, way less money. In what is usually a considerably shorter period of time.

As one person said, “Viva Mediation. It saved my finances”. Mediation saves a lot more than just finances.  To find out more please get in touch ?