Mediation & Arbitration

The Benefits of Mediation

There are several benefits to mediation:

• It’s more cost-efficient. Appearing in court multiple times in front of a judge can get costly, fast. Mediation is almost always a more cost-effective way to approach divorce because you don’t have to pay for attorneys to show up in court as often, and the process overall is typically less involved than an in-court divorce.
• It’s less stressful. When two parties engage in mediation, they express their intent to compromise and come to a mutually beneficial resolution. This makes mediation inherently less stressful than contested in-court divorces where both parties disagree on how to approach the divorce (sometimes vehemently).
• There’s a greater chance you get what you want. If you drag your divorce through the court, you risk ending up with a court-ordered divorce decree that doesn’t give either party what they want. In contrast, the mediation process gives both parties more control over the divorce, allowing them to find better solutions.

At Johnson/Turner Legal, we fully support clients who decide to pursue mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method. It’s important to note that the mediator in a divorce cannot give parties legal advice. That’s where we come in.

Although mediation can be a less stressful and more cost-effective way to resolve a divorce, it can also be more challenging to defend your rights in mediation. As experienced divorce mediation lawyer in Minnesota, we have the tools to help you pursue your best interests throughout the mediation process. We can help you understand the potential ramifications of mediation arrangements so you can reach an equitable solution with your soon-to-be-ex.

Some Important Facts About Mediation

• You’re not bound by anything at mediation unless both parties agree, and rules are in place to help make a settlement more likely. You can also sign an agreement that makes your mediation a binding contract that’s no longer confidential.
• Anything disclosed by either party to the mediator is confidential. Each party can speak freely with the mediator about their goals, fears, and rationales.
• The mediator’s goal is to promote discussion among the parties that focuses on satisfying their interests and achieves a reasonable compromise.
• If you take your case to court, a judge decides the outcome of a dispute — in mediation, the dispute resolution is decided by the parties.
• A mediated settlement is almost always faster, less expensive, and more satisfying to the parties involved because the decisions were theirs.
• If mediation doesn’t work, you always have the same right to a court hearing to resolve the dispute.

What Is Arbitration?

In arbitration, the parties agree to hire a third party to hear their case and make a decision. That decision settles the dispute. Because it is technically a settlement, the arbitrator’s decision usually can not be appealed. Exceptions to this might be if the arbitrator decided an issue he or she was not asked to decide or if one party can prove bias on the part of the arbitrator.

In arbitration, each party in a dispute presents the facts and arguments of their case to an arbitrator, who evaluates the information and makes a decision to resolve the dispute. Arbitration can be binding or non-binding, and the parties have to agree to the choice of arbitrator and the scope of his/her binding power prior to the process.

Arbitration Is Sort of Like Court, But It’s Not Court

Simply put, arbitration is a process. In a way, it’s like a trial: each side of a dispute presents their case to a decision-maker. Presentations can include witnesses and exhibits. Each side can question the witnesses. For a trial, the decision-maker is a judge or jury. For arbitration, the decision-maker is an arbitrator. If you have an arbitration hearing, the arbitrator will issue his or her decision shortly after the hearing is complete.

But arbitration is different than going to court in some very important ways. For one, it’s usually much faster. After you start the process, the arbitration hearing is usually held within a few weeks. If you are in court, the trial is months or years away. Another difference is that you can’t appeal the arbitrator’s decision. With a few very rare exceptions, whatever the arbitrator orders determines the final outcome.

Advantages of Arbitration

• An arbitration case can be scheduled as soon as the parties, attorneys, and arbitrator can find a date that works for everyone.
• Arbitration usually takes less time and is less formal than court, so the cost is often significantly lower.
• The parties can agree ahead of time on how to treat the arbitrator’s decisions. The decisions can be binding or simply advisory. The decisions can cover some, but not all, of the issues that exist between the parties, or they can cover all of the outstanding disputes.