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Establishing and negotiating a contract can be a tricky task, particularly when negotiations reach a stalemate and neither party wants to budge.  It might be simple wording that stalls negotiations or something much bigger such as a disagreement over salary or benefits that keeps parties from reaching an agreement.  Whatever the reason, creating a contract that makes all parties happy can be a difficult task—and that’s where a contract mediator can be extremely valuable in the process.

Contract mediation allows both parties to sit down together and discuss their positions related to the details of the contract.  In contract mediation, a neutral, third-party mediator facilitates this discussion and assists with any legal questions either party might have regarding the law as it relates to contracts and business. Contract mediation is a cost-saving and time-saving alternative to litigation or arbitration because it ensures that both parties enter the negotiations with the goal of finding a solution that is mutually beneficial.  As an added benefit, contract mediation is completely confidential, helping all parties involved to maintain their reputation and keep any disagreement out of the public eye.

The most obvious benefit of contract mediation is that the parties involved remain in complete control of the outcome of the settlement.  While the mediator facilitates the discussion and helps both parties arrive at a solution, he or she doesn’t “take sides” and assists in the negotiations only as much as the parties involved allow.  The final resolution remains in the hands of the parties in dispute and litigation is always an option if the mediation proceedings are not successful.

As contracts become increasingly more complex, with each side attempting to mitigate its risk and foresee any possible problems from the onset of the business relationship, the contract negotiation process can be time consuming and costly.  Contract mediation helps the process along, ensuring that both parties are happy with the outcome while a middle ground is reached.

Whether the dispute arises over a neighbor’s barking dog or a divorce in which both parties want custody of the beloved family pet, pet mediation is a field that is growing in popularity.  In an effort to avoid costly litigation over matters involving pet ownership and disputes due to pet behavior, an increasing number of disputants are finding that pet mediation is a successful, cost-effective and time-saving alternative dispute resolution process.

In pet mediation, a professional mediator works with all parties involved to settle the dispute out of court.  With a neutral, non-biased approach, a professional pet mediator can help the parties in dispute see the situation from everyone’s point of view, allowing parties to reach a resolution sooner (and with less bitterness).  Facilitating open communication and mutual respect, pet mediation allows the disputant parties to stay in control of the outcome of the case and provides the option of eventually filing a lawsuit if the mediation outcome is unsuccessful.

However, in a Wall Street Journal article entitled “A Dog’s Bark is Better than Litigation’s Bite,” Debra Hamilton, a New York State Court-certified mediator, discusses another important reason why many pet owners are finding answers to their pet-related legal problems through pet mediation.  According to Hamilton, on her experience, courts treat pets like property.  A person’s attachment to an animal is not taken into consideration.  “Courts are bound by statutes and precedent and can’t address the emotions owners may feel for their pets,” she says.  For this reason, pet mediation often has a more satisfying outcome for everyone involved, since a pet mediator will take into account the emotions involved in the dispute.

In many cases involving disruptive barking or claims regarding threatening pets, the biggest problem is a failure to communicate.  When each side is allowed an opportunity to calmly present its claim, and with the help of a mediator who understands civil law, pet mediation can resolve complaints quickly and effectively—at very little cost.

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Physicians spend a lot of money to protect themselves and their practice from medical malpractice claims.  Regardless of how good a physician is at his or her job, the likelihood of being sued for medical malpractice is always present —good or bad, when someone believes a medical mistake was made and suffered loss as a result, emotions can run high and make litigation a first response.

The problem with most medical malpractice lawsuits is that it immediately sets everyone involved, particularly the physician, on the defensive.  A medical malpractice lawsuit could be disastrous for a physician’s reputation and career, causing him or her to “lawyer up” in order to protect their job and status within the community of medical professionals.  However, on a personal level, many physicians feel betrayed and vulnerable in the midst of such claims, wishing that the patient had not gone to such extreme legal means to be compensated for a possible mistake that was made.

For this reason, among others, medical malpractice mediation is an excellent way to resolve disputes concerning possible mistakes that were made on behalf of a doctor or other professional within the medical field.  In medical malpractice mediation, all parties will be able to discuss the dispute with a neutral mediator who is trained in laws relating to medical practice.  Within these sessions, a mutual agreement can be reached that not only saves time and money for everyone involved, but also saves the reputation of the physician who may or may not have been at fault in the claim.

Medical malpractice mediation promotes open communication and assists the disputants in maintaining mutual respect and trust while working out the details of a settlement.  An added benefit is that since the result of any settlement reached may not be binding unless the parties agreed, they have the option of later moving the case to litigation if they feel that mediation hasn’t resolved the conflict to everyone’s satisfaction.

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Construction projects are often magnets for conflict.  Whether it’s a disagreement between the property owner and contractor or the contractor and sub-contractors, the money and time commitment that are often involved in both small and large-scale construction projects create multiple opportunities for conflict before, during and after a project’s completion.  This is why mediation as a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution in construction disputes can be such a useful tool.

A mediator with expertise in construction mediation will be able to assist with conflicts related to contract review, occupational safety, risk management and labor disputes.  The right mediator will be able to demonstrate expertise and experience in mediating disputes among all construction industry personnel, including owners, contractors, sub-contractors, architects, engineers, insurance companies, manufacturers and suppliers of materials used in construction projects, equipment suppliers, mortgage and construction loan lenders, consultants, accountants and building code officials.

When a contractor or construction company’s reputation is on the line, extensive litigation through a civil lawsuit is the last thing most business owners want.  Litigation is a very public matter and can ruin a company’s reputation that has taken years to build.  This is another reason why construction mediation is so successful—when a dispute is settled out of court, it is often in everyone’s best interest.  Mediation is confidential, private and ensures that the final decision regarding settlement remains in the full control of the parties in dispute.  No judge or jury will determine the outcome of your case and there will be no public record of the details of the dispute.

With the right mediator, parties involved in a construction dispute can settle their conflict quickly and efficiently, without spending a lot of time and money to do so.  The best part is that mediation is non-binding.  This means that if you are still unsatisfied with the outcome of the mediation sessions, you can always choose to file a lawsuit as a last resort.

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Maritime mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that can help parties reach a resolution concerning matters of maritime law.  Such law includes, but is not limited to, ship owner liability, shipmaster duties and contract negotiations, maritime worker injury, maritime worker contract negotiations, admiralty and maritime shipping law, and maritime security, as well as all matters related to cruise ships, ferries, dredging vessels and Jones Act claims.

On the international stage, maritime mediation has helped resolve thousands of disputes between countries and borders that could have resulted in heightened conflict or even war.  An example of how countries need maritime mediation occurred in 2012, when the country of Cyprus offered to host maritime mediation between Lebanon and Israel concerning a border dispute centered on exploration of the Mediterranean Sea.

The maritime border dispute had been ongoing between Lebanon and Israel for several years and concerned a small area of the Mediterranean Sea—approximately 850 square kilometers—that both countries claimed.  The dispute over the area, and over which country had rights to explore it for resources, heightened to the point of war between the two nations.

While negotiations have been ongoing, neighboring Cyprus has encouraged both countries to enter into maritime mediation to resolve the conflict instead of resorting to violence.  However, an agreement signed between Cyprus and Israel in 2010 has distanced Lebanon from consideration of maritime mediation even further.  According to Lebanese officials, the agreement conflicts with the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and should be amended before the country will agree to enter maritime mediation.

It remains to be seen how Lebanon and Israel will ultimately resolve its maritime issues, but its neighbors are seeking the peaceful solution of maritime mediation to help both countries avoid a costly (both in lives and in resources) and violent approach.