We offer a Commercial Mediation Service to help parties resolve disputes and find mutually satisfactory agreements. Commercial Mediation is a confidential process in which an accredited neutral mediator facilitates individuals or businesses to work towards a negotiated agreement of a dispute. Both parties are in control of the decision to settle and the terms of resolution are not legally binding until a settlement is agreed and signed.
Business is about people having relationships in which they make and fulfil agreements to provide services and products for a return. This is grounded in trust, commitment, reciprocity, good will, respect and, ultimately, the delivery of what the customer wants.
Inevitably there are times when people have misunderstandings, disagreements, disputes and conflicts. Commercial disputes can be very costly in money, time, reputation, energy and lost opportunities.
Conflicts can arise:
- Between companies and other companies- joint ventures, deals, contracts etc.
- Between companies shareholders and stakeholders
- Within companies:
- Boardroom conflicts
- Personality clashes
- Family disputes
- Intra-organisational conflict
Our Commercial Mediation service helps parties to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to a dispute at a low cost relative to escalation or litigation.
Benefits of mediation
- Resolve conflicts
- Achieve mutually satisfactory agreements
- Save money
- Save time
- Avoid reputational loss
- Rescue opportunities and deals
- Restore cooperative relationships
- Build trust
- Establish a better future business relationship
- Enables parties to express how they each perceive the situation and how they feel about it
- Restores communication
- Provides a structured process for negotiation
- Gives the parties a chance to decide for themselves a final and certain outcome, in contrast to litigation and arbitration
How mediation works
Mediation enables the parties to engage in constructive negotiations. The presence of a mediator improves the dynamics of a negotiation. The mediator deploys skills of negotiation, problem-solving and communication in the process from a position of independence and neutrality, making progress more possible.
The mediator, can:
- Win the trust of all parties
- Facilitate communication
- Help each party to understand the other party's position
- Identify each party's private interests and needs
- Focus the parties on interests and issues, not positions
- Overcome emotional blockages
- Help parties assess their own position objectively
- Suggest ways forward
- Identify ways to maximise value for both parties through agreement
- Overcome deadlock
- Save face for parties, including when needing to change their position
- Explore proposed settlements in depth
- Assist parties to communicate settlement proposals effectively
- Objectively assess the likelihood of settlement.
The Mediation Process
- This can be done in person with both parties present or remotely by phone or online.
- The following framework is a guide for a one-day, but it is flexible and adapted to the situation.
- We offer a one day mediation for a fixed price for straightforward disputes and a flexible service for complex disputes.
Preliminary contact between the parties and the mediator to:
- Agree to mediation
- Agree and sign a mediation agreement
- Agree dates, duration, location, representation, legal framework, fees, documentation
- Check that the lawyers have briefed their clients in preparation
Exchange written summaries of the case:
- These are without prejudice and cannot be used in evidence in any later litigation
- Inform each other and focus parties on the key issues
- Inform the mediator
Initial private meetings:
- How parties and mediator will be addressed can be agreed
- Comfort factors and other physical needs are dealt with
- The practicalities of the day can be discussed
- Any immediate questions can be answered
Initial joint meeting:
- The mediator sets the scene and the ground rules
- The parties present opening statements to each other and the mediator
- Some dialogue between the parties might take place
- A joint exercise to establish what needs to be met in order to achieve an agreement.
Private confidential meetings between the mediator and each party to:
- Identify the important issues, interests and needs of each party
- Encourage openness about weaknesses as well as strengths
- Manage expectations
- Work with the full team
- Discuss options for settlement.
Further possible joint meeting facilitated by the mediator to:
- Provide fuller explanations or further information
- Set an agenda and agree next steps
- Discuss differences, perhaps in understanding of fact or expert opinion, or likely legal outcome, or about the impact of events on a party
- Generate new ideas and options
- Negotiate directly
Settlement
- Agree the terms of settlement
- Write the settlement down or agree next steps
- The legal agreement is prepared by the lawyers
- Agreement signed, if agreed
- If not, agree next steps
The cost
Fixed price, one day mediation provides the services of a CEDR accredited Mediator that covers 4 hours pre-mediation preparation and mediation time on the day itself up to a maximum of 7 hours.
What is included?
- Preparation time up to 2 hours per party
- Up to 7 hours of mediation time
What's not covered?
- Costs of a venue (minimum of private three rooms required).
- Mediators' travel expenses
- Refreshments
- Extra preparation time if the parties require the mediator to study detailed material or provide substantial pre-mediation contact
- Extra mediation and preparation time is billed separately
Get in touch for a conversation to see how this might benefit your business.
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