Page 31 - Expert Witness
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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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