Preparing for Mediation as a Party
Although mediation is an informal process designed to allow parties to exchange information and discuss their interests, PREPARATION WILL HELP YOU MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF THE MEDIATION.
Parties often think there is not much to do to prepare for mediation because the mediator will help facilitate discussion of the dispute with the other party(s). Many parties think they can just meet with the mediator and respond to topics as they come up.
However, your best interests may not be served if you do not take the time to prepare for the mediation.The chances of reaching an agreement at the mediation which is satisfactory to both sides will be higher if aspects of the dispute are considered BEFORE THE MEDIATION:
This guide can help assist you with preparing for YOUR mediation.
Considering All Aspects of the Dispute
Make sure that you are prepared to outline your view of the "facts" of the dispute for the benefit of the other party and the mediator, so that the other party hears your perspective. Think about how to phrase your views in a way that the other side will hear and understand, even if they don't agree. Your introduction will help set the tone for the mediation. If you hope to reach an agreement with the other side, take advantage of the opening as an opportunity to make it clear that you are there to negotiate - not to argue about the past.
Your Interests:
Clearly define the issues that are important to you before the mediation.Some useful starting points include:
- What are we negotiating about?
- What is it about these issues that is important to me?
- What do I hope to gain?
- What information do I have to support my point of view? What additional information might be helpful?
Take time to carefully think about all aspects of the dispute. For example, "I want money from my neighbour for the fence I built" may be your initial issue, but underlying interests may include:
- conflict-free future relations with the neighbour,
- working with the neighbour to increase property values, and
- avoidance of costly and lengthy lawsuits.
Identify interests that may be common to all parties. In the example above, it may be difficult to negotiate when one position is "give me money" and the other is "I don't want to". Productive negotiation is much more likely to occur if you spend some time thinking about possible common issues.The Opposing Party's Interests:
- Take time to think about the possible interests of the other party.
- Prepare open-ended questions to help you determine the other party's interests during the mediation. These questions will assist in moving the discussion towards common interests.
Developing Options:
- Create a number of proposed solutions which could address the interests of all parties.
- Remain flexible and consider possible creative responses to solutions which may be proposed by the other party at the mediation.
- Keep in mind that creative proposals are not necessarily offers, but simply ideas. Often when the 'other side' has assisted in the development of a creative solution proposed by you, it is more likely to be accepted by the 'other side'.
Walk-away Alternatives:
- It is important to have thought about the different alternatives open to you, and the likelihood that these alternatives could be achieved, before you engage in mediation.
- Ask yourself what will happen if you don't settle. Do you want to go to court? Abandon a claim? How much time and money are you willing to put into this? How strong is your side?
- Knowing your best and worst alternatives and the range of possible results in between them will help you to measure the value of any offers made at mediation.
Documentation:
- Be sure to have all relevant documentation available at the mediation.It is important that you are prepared to support your side of the dispute.
- he usefulness of mediation will be greatly increased by making sure
you bring any relevant information, documentation, photographs, etc.
to the mediation session (or if appropriate, exchanging ahead of time
with the other party).
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