To sue or not to sue?
Are you potentially involved in a contentious commercial argument? Was your first thought ‘I’m going to sue you’ or ‘see you in court’? The first thing anyone does when faced with such a situation is to think of courts, judges, barristers and wigs. However the use of mediation to settle differences is becoming more and more the norm.
Mediation is a method of alternative dispute resolution that allows each party to air their differences to an impartial third party (or mediator), in absolute confidentiality and on a without prejudice basis. The role of the mediator is to seek common ground between each party, identify the areas of disagreement and point the parties towards a constructive solution to the problem.
This could help save any business or personal relationship between the parties, save the cost of court and legal fees and most importantly, remove the possibility of a potential costs order against one of the parties if the trial were to go to court and that party had refused to mediate.
Although not a foolproof situation, as it requires cooperation between all parties and the final decision is not binding until the dotted line has been signed, the courts are looking favourably at mediation as a viable alternative to litigation.
If you would like to know more about mediation, please contact Graham Young: gyoung@cheyneygoulding.co.uk.