How Does Mediation Go? Hopefully Well
by Joan Bradley
How does mediation go? In a court of law, you may either be ordered to mediation or you and the other party may voluntarily go to mediation. Either way, you may be surprised at how mediation is conducted and how it might turn out.
Like a Hearing
Like a hearing, you schedule a mediation meeting wherein both you and the other person are required to attend. It is usually a mutually-agreed upon date and time, but it does not have to be if you are not on the best speaking terms with the other party. You both show up to the correct meeting place in the courthouse, check in with the clerk of courts, and then wait for your mediator to arrive or to finish another mediation meeting.
Not Like a Hearing
Unlike a hearing, no lawyers are allowed. They cannot be present, nor can they offer advice in the wings. Selecting mediation or being sent to mediation means you both give up the right to have an attorney present because the mediator is supposed to help you resolve your issues. Ergo, it is just you, the other party, and the mediator in the room at a table hashing things out.
Length of the Mediation Meeting
Unfortunately, there is no one way to predict how long a mediation meeting will go. Unless the mediator's schedule is set up in two-hour intervals, you may be there an hour, two hours or longer. Conflicts between divorcing couples (which is typically the purpose for mediation) can go on for years, so mediation for a couple of hours might not make any headway. If you can come to some agreement on at least one or two things, the meeting is considered successful. If you still need to hash it out, you can pay for additional time with the mediator and return another day.
Compromises That Stick
The end result, or hoped-for result, of any mediation meeting is that you and the other party reach some fair compromises. These compromises are then converted into a court order, solidifying the agreements between parties in perpetuity or until something out of the ordinary happens that creates cause for change of said agreements. Of course, the latter rarely happens, and the decisions made in mediation stick a good, long time. Hopefully, whatever you and your former spouse or other party agree upon in mediation is something that you both can live with.
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About Me
You walk into your favorite grocery store and right away, you slip and fall only to sprain your ankle. You can't perform your job because it requires standing on your feet all day, which means that you can't make any money to support your family while your ankle heals. There was no warning that the floors were wet after being cleaned in the store – so what do you do? It's probably a good idea to think about filing a personal injury lawsuit. Of course, anyone with experience with a personal injury case will tell you just how important it is to work with an attorney throughout the process. I'd like to share insight I've learned through three personal injury cases that I myself have had to go through in the past. I think the information on this website can help people like you, who need some personal injury guidance.