With the increasingly high legal costs and the overloaded court system, many courts are utilizing the assistance of legal mediators to help the parties come to a settlement agreemen. This helps the court avoid handling lengthy cases and helps everyone else save money on high legal expenses. Here's a simple overview of legal mediators and when they can help you.
What is a Legal Mediator?
Legal mediators, sometimes incorrectly known as arbitrators or conciliators, are trained professionals who help parties resolve disputes. They listen to both parties, and/or their attorneys, and provide them with encouragement and direction in finding solutions that will be in the best interest of all involved. Legal mediators do not make the final decision in a case but rather help the two parties come to an amicable agreement. They also help the parties stick to the matters at hand and find appropriate solutions to their problems.
Other duties of a legal mediator are implementing court rulings into a case; controlling the direction of negotiations; initiating communication, and documenting the cases. Legal mediators are expected to keep abreast of all current legislation and rules. Although legal mediators can be found in various industries and situations, family court cases such as divorce and child custody are the most common situations where you might find a legal mediator.
Do I Have To Hire Legal Mediator?
Having a legal mediator may be a decision you can make on your own. For certain types of cases, such as divorce and custody cases, legal mediation is required, particularly when the two parties can’t agree. In some states, couples can’t even become divorced if they haven’t first worked with a legal mediator.
Mediators are helpful, even if you aren't required to have one. The legal mediator will not side with one party or the other, but will help both parties look at the big picture and come to an agreement. In cases where the two parties cannot come to an agreement, the mediator may make recommendations to the court based on the mediation sessions.
What Kind of Legal Mediators Are There?
As stated above, divorce and child custody are the cases where you most often see legal mediators. They may mediate disputes over issues such as:
- Business/commercial: partnerships, work relationships, and contracts
- Consumer: fraud, bad business practice, defective products
- Labor/employment: deals with issues between employees and management or unions
- Housing: issues with landlords/tenants regarding eviction, deposits or rental conditions
- Construction: issues regarding unsatisfactory work, liens or fees
- Real estate: issues regarding offers, inspection, property purchases, contracts and earnest money
- Victim/offender: involves victims of a crime and the offender working to find a solution
- Education: involves issues between students and teachers or student to student
If you find yourself in a legal dispute, you should consider consulting a legal mediator. They can make the process go much more smoothly, and if they do their job right, help you resolve the issue with much less conflict than a competitive court battle.
