Tag Archives: Mediation

Avoiding Child Adoption Nightmares Through Adoption Mediation

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Avoiding Child Adoption Nightmares Through Adoption Mediation
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net

The recent news surrounding the adoption of Baby Veronica, and subsequent legal battles between her adoptive parents and biological father, have renewed concerns for adoptive parents about ensuring the process doesn’t turn into their own personal nightmare.  For most adoptive parents who experience the elation of adopting a child, only to later face the threat of losing that child—the unpredictability can be a traumatic process for everyone involved.

As adoptive parents, one of the best ways to ascertain all the legal ‘I’s are dotted and ‘T’s are crossed in the adoption process is to enlist the help of a professional child adoption mediator who can facilitate a smooth and protective adoption procedure.  Child adoption mediators have been trained to look for and correct potential pitfalls at the onset before they become a threat to everyone involved, including the child who simply wants a family of his/her own.

Child adoption mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process that seeks to settle legal disputes or actions outside of the courtroom.  Child adoption mediation is generally facilitated by a lawyer, former judge and/or certified professional mediator who understands adoption laws within your particular state.  He or she can also ensure that all necessary paperwork is correctly filed, and all possible problems are considered at an early stage, to avoid potential problems that could arise in the future between you, the adoptive parents, and other invested parties within the child’s life (the state, the child’s biological family, etc.)

The child adoption mediator is a neutral, third-party facilitator who helps all involved parties reach a legally enforceable settlement in the child adoption process.  While the child adoption process is completely voluntary and confidential, whatever is determined in the mediation settlement will be legally enforced by the court system.  If the parties involved fail to reach a settlement or agreement in the child adoption mediation process, they may then turn to other avenues of alternative dispute resolution or litigation to resolve their dispute.

Malpractice Mediation for Easier Settlements

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Malpractice Mediation for Easier Settlements
Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / freedigitalphotos.net

According to a report compiled from the National Practitioner Data Bank, in 2012, over $3.6 billion dollars was paid out in medical malpractice claims.  Of these payouts, 93% were the result of a settlement rather than a judgment, which clearly shows the success rate of alternative dispute resolution practices such as professional malpractice mediation.

When a professional offers services—whether it be medical, legal or investment-related—the possibility always exists for something to go wrong.  After all, professionals are human and humans make mistakes from time to time—even the ones who are exceptional at their jobs.  In cases for which something goes wrong, most professionals are covered by an insurance policy for malpractice claims.  In fact, in today’s world, very few professionals practice their craft without one.

That’s why professional malpractice mediation is a great way to reach a settlement on a malpractice claim.  With litigation comes not only added expense, but also loss of time and (potentially) reputation in the process.  However, with professional malpractice mediation, both sides are able to openly communicate about the conflict with the assistance of a third party, neutral mediator.  This process of open communication facilitates a quicker settlement so that everyone can get back to their lives and put the incident behind them.

Many organizations encourage mediation as a way to resolve professional malpractice claims because it is a low-cost, low-profile option.  The best part is that if either party is not happy with the outcome of the mediation proceedings, they can then choose to litigate the claim.  While mediation ensures that the parties in conflict remain in control of the outcome of their own negotiations, it doesn’t always promise a resolution to the conflict.  However, in many cases involving professional malpractice, a mediator is able to bring the parties to a place of mutual agreement on settlement terms, making the process easier for everyone involved.

Numbers and Compromise in Wrongful Death Mediation

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Mediation in a wrongful death case is often required by the courts before a civil trial can ensue.  Once regarded as an alternative to litigation, mediation (particularly in wrongful death cases) is quickly becoming a step disputants must take before litigation can occur.  This isn’t a bad thing: Mediation has quickly proven itself to be an effective and cost-saving alternative to going to court.  In addition, mediation leaves the control of the outcome in the hands of the parties in dispute—only they can decide the terms upon which they want to settle.

The mediator involved in a wrongful death mediation hearing will be an attorney who is familiar with the law relating to wrongful death claims.  While impartial, he or she will be able to advise each disputant how a judge and jury would likely rule on the case, if taken through litigation.  This knowledge often helps the parties in dispute come to an agreement more quickly, once they see that mediation offers them more control over the outcome than a judge and jury would offer.  In this respect, it is important that parties in dispute over a wrongful death accusation choose a mediator that they can both trust to give them solid, non-biased advice.

If insurance is involved, a representative from the insurance company will likely be present at the mediation hearing.  Many nursing homes, hospitals, doctor’s offices and health clinics have insurance policies to protect them from going under due to wrongful death or medical malpractice lawsuits.  Therefore, the insurance company will want to have a representative present to ensure that all details relating to the claim are dealt according to policy and according to the proper legal guidelines.

In the end, mediation is about numbers and compromise.  An honest, thorough look at the numbers involved in a claim can allow both parties to compromise in a way that allows them both to leave the mediation hearing with a sense of closure and with the sense that it was handled fairly.

The Top Traits of the Best Mediators

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The Top Traits of the Best Mediators

Although there are different schools of thought concerning the role of a mediator and how he or she should best handle the process of facilitating a session, there are certain traits that are undeniably necessary for any mediator to possess. Regardless of what type of conflict you focus on in your business, or the type of client you most often see come through the doors of your office, harboring and honing these traits will ensure that you have what it takes to be a success in this field.

1. Humanity
This trait is vital in establishing trust and respect—two essential ingredients for any successful mediation session. Mediation often involves heightened emotions and it takes a large dose of humanity to be able to navigate the stormy waters those emotions can stir. Often, the only way to truly mediate a conflict is to achieve unity with all parties involved; it is through this aspect of mediation that the mediator serves as a bridge between the disputants, allowing them to find a common ground and meet there to reach a settlement.

2. Diligence
Mediation is not an easy task and requires a finely tuned work ethic on behalf of the mediator if success is to be achieved. The best mediators are proactive, persevering and almost relentless during the mediation process—all traits that ensure the conflict is resolved as quickly as possible so that the disputants can get back to business as usual.

3. Trustworthiness
In order to reach a level of true neutrality, both parties in dispute will need to trust that you are working on their behalf. As soon as the scales tip to favor one side over the other, you’ve lost your ability to mediate the conflict successfully. This is why it is important that a mediator maintain the trust of both parties, without question, and the only way to do this is to remain as fair and non-biased as possible during the course of the mediation session(s). Once a mediator has established himself or herself as trustworthy, that train goes a long way in making sure clients leave the table with good things to say about your services. Their reference will be the cornerstone of your business, and your trustworthiness (or lack thereof) will be what makes or breaks that cornerstone.

4. Intelligence
An intelligent mediator wins the confidence of his or her clients quickly. When your clients value your expertise and knowledge and trust it explicitly, your work with them will flow much smoother because they will respect your opinion and suggestions. Developing your knowledge base through professional development and personal study is a good plan to enact in order to grow your business and reputation for the long-term.

The Mediator and the Photographer: Frames and Filters in the Mediation Process

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The Mediator and the Photographer: Frames and Filters in the Mediation Process

Image courtesy of Tanatat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For any mediator who has ever tried his or her hand at advanced photography, the connections between mediation and photography become strikingly obvious. In the same sense that a mediator uses concepts like framing and filtering to help clients reach a settlement, a photographer uses these exact concepts when taking and finishing photo to show a particular mood or tone.

According to its most general definition, the term ‘frame’ refers to the boundaries that are set and how the content within those boundaries is viewed. In photography, the photographer understands that framing a photo is one of the most important steps to distinguishing that photo from others—while one photographer might frame a scene from one angle or from a particular distance, another photographer could find a completely different angle and viewpoint that changes the entire mood and tone of the photo. While it’s the same scene, the outcome could be vastly different; in the world of photography, this difference has distinguished many photographers’ work.

Those who are familiar with the process of mediation can easily see the metaphorical connection between a photographer’s frame and the frame with which a mediator sets up a session. Approaching a dispute from one angle could lend an entirely different tone and outcome to the outcome of the session. This is why framing is so important from the onset and should be the first thing you focus on to set your work apart from that of other mediators. How can you frame this dispute in such a way that will decrease tension, reduce misunderstanding and promote compromise?

Likewise, in the general sense of the term, a filter can shift, diminish or accentuate a particular object or group of objects. In photography, a filter can completely change the mood and outcome of the photograph. A color filter can make a yellow-tinged object look blue, a diffusion filter can soften the lines of the objects within the photo, and a UV filter can reduce the haze of ultraviolet light.

In mediation, filters are the metaphorical lens through which your clients are viewing their situation and dispute. They will come to the mediation session with their own filters and it is up to you to recognize what those are and, if necessary, change them or remove them to help your clients see the situation more clearly. In many cases, this involves showing them the reality of the situation—for example, discussing what the likely outcome would be if the case were litigated. After their personal filters have been removed, expect the picture they see to be much clearer and closer to reality, leading to a much easier resolution process.

So the next time you enter a mediation session, think like a photographer and imagine the outcome you want for the final product. With that in mind, frame your approach and determine the filters that need to be added or removed to get there. This is the art of mediation.