Help Your Mediator Help You - Preparing for Mediation
Your mediator is here to help you! Still, your mediator needs your help too. It is a collaborative, not an adversarial relationship. That’s one advantage of mediation over trial. All sides want what’s best for their clients, and argue for that, but in a mediation the mediator is the neutral “in between” who needs to have an ability to listen and accept various points of view and a grasp of the parties’ motivations, personalities, and wants—as opposed to needs, in addition to an understanding of the facts of the case.
So how can you help your mediator help you?
Promptly send back any forms such as your mediation agreement, signed by all parties required and their attorneys - The mediator will not begin any work on your case until having received a properly signed agreement that includes an agreement to the mediator’s fees and an agreement to abide by the rules of mediation, as required by statute, court rules and/or treaties.
Be available for any pre-mediation calls - These are important calls between just the attorney(s), client(s), and the mediator. They are important for both the mediator and the parties as an informal get-together. They give the client a chance to meet and get to know the mediator, making the mediation itself more comfortable. These calls give the clients and attorneys a chance to ask questions about the process, test their equipment, become more confident in the confidentiality of the process (whether a virtual platform or otherwise), when invited to talk with the mediator or attorney in a private room. They are also very important for the mediator to get to know the attorneys and the clients. The mediator has an opportunity to consider the clients’ feelings about the case and to see if they are inclined to negotiation, or resolved to go to trial “no matter what” — whether they are passive, frightened, tending to explode, resolved, or otherwise.
Promptly answer and return the mediators pre-mediation requests for information - It is very helpful to the mediator to obtain answers to questions such as:
What is the theory of your case?”
“Have you discussed settlement with the other side?”
“What is the last demand or offer made for settlement and by whom?”
The answers to these questions will help the mediator know where to start the mediation and save time.
Send the mediator copies of the complaint, answer, any prior important relative motions made to the court and the court rulings - These items will help the mediator to know which issues are in dispute and which issues have already been resolved, allowing everyone to move forward without rehashing anything, risking the opening of old woods and covering old ground, thus making the actual mediation go more smoothly.
Be prepared and help the mediator prepare by sending copies of the most important cases, statutes, treaties or rules, either as attachments or by use of links with your mediation statement explaining your position - Sending this information ahead of time to the mediator allows time for review and preparation and clarifying questions, if necessary.
By helping your mediator to properly and adequately prepare for your mediation, as well as get to know the attorneys and clients informally, your mediator can better and more efficiently help you successfully get your case settled in a timely, cost effective, and less adversarial manner.