Page 31 - Expert Witness

Phase Phase or Activity Description Practitioner’s Potential Services
 Fact finding

Request for Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process. Parties to a
contract often include a mediation clause to  Review resumes of potential mediators
provide a quick and cost-effective method to
resolve future disputes. The mediation clause  Develop interview questions for poten-
may include, among other items, the name of tial mediators (if allowed)
the organization to administer the mediation
proceedings, the required qualifications for the
mediator and the locale in which mediation
meetings will take place. Depending on the ad-
ministering organization, a copy of the media-
tion clause may be required when completing a
formal request for mediation.
However, even if the parties failed to include a
mediation clause in the contract, many organi-
zations will agree to administer mediation if
both parties agree in writing.
Preparation for Mediation Con- In order to assist the mediator to better under-
ference stand the issues of the dispute, the mediator may  Case strategy
require the parties to do any number of tasks
prior to the mediation conference, such as par-
ticipate in a telephone conference call or file  Case assessment
briefs.
 Preparation of materials to support
claim

 Assistance in preparation of pre-
mediation briefs

Mediation Conference At the beginning of the mediation conference,
the mediator will describe the mediation proce-  Assistance with case presentation
dures and establish the ground rules. Next, at a
joint meeting, each party will have an oppor-
tunity to discuss the dispute, respond to oppos-  Case assessment
ing party’s comments, and present ideas as to
how the parties can resolve their dispute. If the  Settlement assistance
joint meeting is not progressing towards settle-
ment, the mediator may find it more beneficial
to split the parties up and conduct separate
meetings. The mediator will then move back
and forth between parties, discussing the pros
and cons of each party’s position in an attempt
to move the parties closer to settlement. When
appropriate, the mediator can bring the parties
together again to conduct a joint meeting.
Settlement If the parties are able to reach a settlement, they
should formalize the terms of the settlement in  Case settlement
writing. However, if the parties are unable to
reach a settlement during mediation, they can
agree to submit their case to arbitration. If the  Settlement assistance
parties do not agree to submit the case to arbi-
tration, the next step will most likely be litiga-
tion.

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