What is Early Intervention Mediation?

 

Business disputes can be a cause of great disruption to businesses.  Resolving them through the legal system can be slow and costly and limited outcomes are available.

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Early intervention mediation is a flexible process that the parties can use to quickly and cost effectively resolve disputes, allowing them to focus on running the business.

 

Early intervention mediation introduces a neutral mediator to provide a trusted and independent third party. Each party can discuss the case on a ‘without prejudice’ and confidential basis. Unlike traditional mediation, those discussions can, certainly initially, take place over the telephone which may reduce the costs associated with gathering all the parties in one location for a formal mediation day.

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Benefits of Early Intervention Mediation

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• Saves time

• Saves unnecessary expense

• ‘Nips in the bud’ potentially damaging misunderstandings or assumptions that can lead to protracted and costly disputes

• Promotes constructive understanding and trust

• Facilitates more positive outcomes

• It gives good creative lawyers another option to use for their clients 

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How does it work?

 

Early intervention mediation is a very flexible process.  Your mediator will design a process to suit your dispute.  Generally, the process will run through the following stages:

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• Request for mediation from one party

• Determination by mediator if the dispute is suitable for mediation

• Mediator speaks with other party/ies to engage them in the process

• Parties sign agreement to mediate and agree to confidentiality

• Mediator prepares both parties for mediation through confidential conversations

• Parties meet together if appropriate

• Settlement is reached.  Lawyers will generally be brought in to document the settlement.

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It is not always possible to reach an agreement in the process but parties will generally find that the issues in dispute have been clarified or reduced.  This saves cost if the matter needs to move forward to litigation.

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Cost of early intervention mediation

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At Nicole Davidson Negotiation our fees are dependant on the size and type of dispute.  Fees are agreed in advance by both parties.

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Fees for the remainder of the process are generally divided equally by the parties unless the parties agree otherwise.  The mediator will provide an estimate of total fees at the outset of the mediation and will keep the parties updated if the matter becomes more complex than initially thought.

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The mediation fees are generally less than the costs of initiating court proceedings.