Mediation Services

Mediation: The most common form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Mediation is a form of guided dialogue between the parties, with the mediator keeping the discussion civil and focused, guided by the "Rules of Mediation." Most importantly, the mediation lawyer is not the decision-maker ... the parties are.

Mediation services have several advantages over litigation or other forms of ADR:

• Mediation is less expensive than litigation;
• You determine the outcome, not the mediation lawyer or other third party;
• The agreement is not effective until you sign the agreement;
• You can terminate the mediation at anytime;
• Mediation can help save a relationship, particularly in a business dispute, or salvage the ability to communicate with your soon-to-be-ex-spouse during divorce mediation services, whereas litigation creates so much bitterness that it makes future relationships much more difficult;
• The mediation process focuses on the future, not on blaming the other party for his/her past conduct;
• You can use mediation services while retaining your dignity and self-respect; you have crafted your own solution, rather than being dragged through the mud and having someone else (a judge) tell you what to do;
• The other side is more likely to comply with an agreement he or she has helped create through mediation, thereby reducing the stress and expense of post-judgment litigation;
• You can write an agreement with much more creative solutions than a court can or will. To paraphrase one judge, ‘Why would you trust a stranger (the judge) to make your most important decisions for you?’

Mediation Services and the Attorney Mediator

Mediation works by getting the parties to identify his or her interest, and moving them away from arguing about his/her position. For example, each party's position may be that he/she wants the orange, but in reality, one's interest may be in the juice for drinking, and the other in the rind for cooking. Once these interests are identified, the parties can each have what they need, and resolve the dispute!

Attorneys are trained to spot issues and anticipate potential problems. That is why they can make effective mediators. After 24 years of helping to resolve parties’ problems, Mr. Baum knows how to bring issues to the table the parties may not have seen, and help find solutions they may not have thought about. But it is important to understand that although Mr. Baum is an attorney, his role is to act as a mediator, not to give legal advice. Of course, he relies on his experience as an attorney-mediator to guide the parties towards a successful mediation. However, as any mediator will tell you, your mediator cannot give legal advice to the parties. If the mediation attorney were to give legal advice that advantaged one party over the other, then one party will no longer believe that he is an unbiased and neutral mediator. That is a primary reason that Mr. Baum and other mediation lawyers strongly suggest the parties consult with their own attorneys before, during and after the mediation, so that they can get personalized legal advice.

How does mediation work?

Except in emergency mediations, the clients are asked to fill out a confidential mediation form, so that Mr. Baum has a good idea of what each party is seeking, and how far apart they are. The process is relatively the same whether dealing with divorce mediation, commercial/business mediation or personal injury mediation.

For the first mediation session, Mr. Baum meets with all of the parties, and the parties’ attorneys if they attend the mediation (that is decided before the first session). At the first meeting, the mediation process and rules for mediation (e.g. civility, confidentiality) are discussed; the parties are asked what their goals are for the mediation, and if they would like to make any changes or additions to the “ground rules.” The session then begins with Mr. Baum asking questions to get the parties talking to one another. If they can't talk civilly to one another, then they carry on a dialogue by speaking only to him. While one is talking the other can take notes, bite his/her lip, or whatever, but he/she should not interrupt.

Usually the parties start together around a table, with the discussion guided by the mediator. In family cases, the parties usually stay in the same room for the mediation with the lawyer, and work through the issues together. In commercial and other non-domestic relations cases, it is more common for the parties to go to different rooms after each side has had a chance to make an opening remark or presentation, with the mediator shuttling back and forth between them with ideas and proposals. Each case is different, and the mediation attorney must rely on his experience to decide the format that will be most productive, whether he is dealing with divorce, personal injury, commercial, contract, employment, environmental, or any other type of dispute that might be resolved through mediation.

Because Mr. Baum serves as a mediator in a variety of cases, he has a good feel for when it is most effective to keep the parties together and when it is better to provide them with separate rooms. Oftentimes, he will employ a hybrid, talking to the parties separately on particularly difficult issues, but bringing them together when it is helpful for the parties to hear the thoughts of the other side directly. Each situation requires its own assessment and the mediator’s creative thinking.

At the beginning of each session, Mr. Baum will ask if anybody wants to discuss any issue raised in earlier mediation sessions. Nothing is final in mediation until the document is signed. It is important that the parties have time to reflect on what has been agreed to, so that they feel comfortable with the final product.

When the agreement has been reached, Mr. Baum drafts a document which memorializes the terms. He will urge the parties to take the draft to separate mediation-friendly attorneys for review. The expense of this review by a mediation attorney is not great, but is an important part of the process. If the reviewing lawyer recommends any changes, he will convey them to the other side’s attorney. When full agreement is reached, the agreement is signed and it becomes a legally enforceable contract. For divorce agreements, it will become your final divorce decree.

How long does the mediation process take?

There is no fixed rule, except that the more the parties have agreed to beforehand, the shorter the mediation process will be.

Family law cases and divorce mediation services

In general, most divorce cases take one three-hour session for legal custody and time-with-the-kids arrangements (“physical custody”), and one or two other sessions for dealing with financial (e.g. alimony, child support, retirement and pension assets) and property (e.g. house, car) matters. Where the parties have essentially agreed on most issues, Mr. Baum has concluded the mediation in as short as 45 minutes. Where the parties could not agree to the time of day coming in, he has worked with couples for six to eight sessions, patiently working with them until they were satisfied with the outcome. The average number of sessions for divorce mediation services is two to three. Sessions can be spaced as you desire. You control the schedule, so they can be days or weeks apart.

All other non-domestic dispute mediation services (e.g. personal injury, employment, business, construction, environmental, real-estate/land-use, intellectual property, education and privacy mediation)

Non-domestic disputes usually are mediated in a more compact manner, since oftentimes lawyers and parties come from elsewhere. Therefore, Mr. Baum schedules longer sessions, sometimes lasting all day. Depending on the nature of the dispute, he will set aside from three hours for basic cases to several consecutive days for complex cases.

Should I have a mediator who only mediates certain types of cases?

Mr. Baum is considered one of the area’s top mediators because of his ability to hear different types of disputes. Conducting business mediations unquestionably helps with the financial aspects of domestic relations mediations. But mediating domestic relations cases helps deal with the emotional aspects of business cases.

Mr. Baum balances his mediation cases between domestic matters, business, construction, environmental, education, real estate/land use and other disputes. In one sense, each of the parties in these disputes has the same need: for a thoughtful, caring, neutral person to listen to their positions and interests, and help them bridge the gap between the sides.

It is beneficial to have a mediation lawyer such as Mr. Baum who works on many types of cases, since it allows him to bring in solutions that he sees in one type of dispute into other types of disputes. For example, resolving a business to business dispute through mediation can lead to more creative thinking for resolving a divorce matter in which a business is involved. Handling emotional aspects of divorce mediation can be useful in dealing with the emotional issues in environmental or business disputes. As importantly, each case is treated as something special- Mr. Baum will not get tired of one type of case, or have a "cookie cutter" solution.