What is Mediation & Arbitration?

Описание: Watch to learn more about ways to resolve disputes outside of court. Mediation and arbitration can save a great deal of time and money for all parties in a dispute!

Hello, I am Gregory Brown, a partner and business litigation attorney with the law firm of Brown & Charbonneau. Today I’m going to talk about the difference between mediation and arbitration, also known as ADR. Both are options to resolve disputes without judges & juries, but they are somewhat different. First, Mediation is a voluntary process. It’s an agreement between the parties to get a third-party neutral, a mediator, together with them to help them try and resolve their dispute. The mediator’s role is to allow each side to voice their opinions and desired outcome, and to help try and find a consensus or compromise to work out their dispute without going to court and incurring all that time and expense. The parties though do need to be willing to cooperate and work together to reach a compromise. This isn’t a situation where the mediator makes a decision or whether there’s a winner or loser. It’s a way to try and work through the dispute and come to some form of mutually agreeable resolution. Now keep in mind with a mediation, if it doesn’t work out during the process, either party is completely allowed to just walk away and move on. It’s not a binding process of any sort. An Arbitration is a situation where you have a trained arbitrator – a former judge or experience ed attorney, that will hear the case. It’s similar to a trial but it’s usually in an informal setting, say a conference room or some other place in an office. Although it is informal, usually the procedure is like a trial where both sides would submit briefs beforehand, both would typically do opening statements. Then, both sides submit their evidence through testimony and documentary evidence. With each arbitrator, the process, as far as how formal or informal it is, will vary. Now if it’s a binding arbitration, the decision is final and any appeals or other options beyond that are very limited. The benefits of arbitration, and specifically binding arbitration, is that it typically costs less than traditional litigation. It is private, so the filings don’t go into the public record and it’s usually quicker. If you have any questions about arb or mediation or any other business or real estate disputes, call us today at 714.505.3000 or email at [email protected]. Thank you.