Michael Campbell – Business Dispute Attorney – Pierce County, WA
“Well, mediation, on the other hand, is two parties sitting down with another party of or more, in some cases, to try to reach a fair agreement, one that they can both agree on again. They may both come out not completely satisfied, thinking that… each one, thinking that they gave too much. But they realize, if they stop and think about it, that if they didn’t agree to what they did, even though they thought it might be too much, after they finally got out of the mediation room, they wouldn’t have had an agreement, and they’d still be at loggerheads.
And the alternative may be going to court. Sometimes time is of the essence. You’ve got a project, that’s going on like a construction project, and you need to get working on it. You just can’t wait. You need an immediate decision. And if you’re smart, you’ll hire a mediator, or you’ll go into it informally with the other party. And I would say, if the other party is represented by an attorney and you want to go and have an informal mediation, be sure you’re represented by an attorney too. You don’t want to go in with one hand tied behind your back?”