Time-efficency in Mediation

Imagine that you have quarreled with a business partner and failed to break up amicably. And soon you get a summons letter. You start looking for legal counsel, cancel or postpone meetings and planned trips. Are you intrigued? It is unlikely. You should admit that participation in litigation is not the most pleasant pastime. 

◊   Can litigation help to resolve the conflict quickly?

Court proceeding may last for two months at the very least. Finally, one of the parties loses or remains unsatisfied by the judgment, and usually files an appeal. This means that the judgment does not become binding, and the further process will linger on for at least several months.  

Moreover, litigation process is strictly regulated and requires compliance with certain procedures. These include payment of court fees, filing a claim, commencement of proceedings, holding sessions. Sessions may significantly affect the legal proceedings duration if one of the parties fails to attend them. They may need to be postponed, and therefore the dispute consideration will last longer. Nuances of claim filing and timing for documents processing in court also matter time-wise. 

◊   How mediation may help saving your time

Unlike the trial, mediation procedure is much faster and may significantly save time of both parties. The very process of dispute resolution through mediation is more flexible than a court proceeding, and it is not limited by a strict procedural framework. 

While the trial is an initiative of one of the parties, and another one is forced to take this step, mediation is always a dialog and is carried out by mutual agreement between parties. Therefore, they intend to find a solution to a conflict as soon as possible. That is why the mediation process lasts for several days, less often – for several weeks.

At the preparation stage, the mediation procedure includes preliminary calls or meetings with each of the parties, study of the case files, appointment of joint negotiations.

The main method used in mediation is holding joint and individual meetings with each of the parties. At the same time, their duration and quantity depend on the dispute nature. Solution may be found during one or more negotiating sessions, which quantity depends on intention and focus of the parties on conflict resolution. And this significantly saves time for each of the parties.

Moreover, while the court proceeding is held on strictly determined days, by resorting to the mediation procedure, parties may rationally use their personal time and appoint meetings when it is convenient just for them. 

Conclusions:

1.   Only one party always applies to a court. Subsequently, there is only one winning party. Mediation is a dialog, there are no winners and losers. Parties are focused on finding a solution that will satisfy everyone as soon as possible. 

2.   Most often, the losing party intends to challenge the court judgment, thus delaying final solution of the case. The goal of mediation is to find consensus and to resolve conflict to the satisfaction of both parties, spending minimum amount of time for this. 

3.   The mediation procedure takes considerably less time than the court proceeding. Time saving during mediation may be from several months up to several years. 

4.   The conflict resolution in court is strictly limited by procedural and time framework. When using mediation for dispute resolution, the parties may meet at a convenient time and do not depend on various time-consuming bureaucracy.