Mediation settles disputes, transforms communication

By Charles H. Hurd

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 02, 2011

~~Question: What are the advantages of mediating conflict disputes, as compared with suing in court?
Answer: As someone who loved being competitive in the courtroom, I was slow to see advantages in mediating or even negotiating a resolution. But later in my career, after handling a lot of cases where my clients had to pay high lawyer fees and court costs, even for a winning case, I started to use mediation. As I studied more about the process, I learned that many, if not most disputes -- even long and contentious personal beefs -- can be settled through mediation, which is simply using an impartial, experienced and good communicator to help the disputants construct their own solutions.
~~

Question: What are the advantages of mediating conflict disputes, as compared with suing in court?

Answer: As someone who loved being competitive in the courtroom, I was slow to see advantages in mediating or even negotiating a resolution. But later in my career, after handling a lot of cases where my clients had to pay high lawyer fees and court costs, even for a winning case, I started to use mediation. As I studied more about the process, I learned that many, if not most disputes -- even long and contentious personal beefs -- can be settled through mediation, which is simply using an impartial, experienced and good communicator to help the disputants construct their own solutions. Login for more...