Mediation Advocacy and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Mediation Advocacy and Practice - Essay Example With the mediator acting to transform the relationship by honing in on the legal issues of contributory negligence on Josh’s part and the landlord respondent’s liability, the parties were able to see each side differently and settled the matter for US$65,000 (Resnick vs. Stevens Realty). The mediator used caucus sessions for the most part. The first session consisted of having both sides state their case with probing and questioning from the mediator. Once both sides presented their cases, the mediator moved into caucus sessions. He brought with him, 15 years of litigation in the area of personal injuries and let both sides know in his introduction that he was very familiar with how lawyers handled these cases, how judges ruled and how jurors responded to these kinds of cases. Even so, the parties were informed that there were no certainties with regards to outcome in civil litigation. This in and of itself created anxieties. By choosing mediation, they parties were in a unique position to remove the anxiety associated with outcome and they could control their proceedings and the outcome. I thought this was a good way to get the parties to commit to resolving the conflict themselves. The mediator’s evaluative and transformative approaches appeared to work out rather well. However, there were times during the caucus sessions where I felt he spoke too quickly and put significant pressure on both sides to move the negotiations along. The mediator emphasized that time was running out and they needed to move forward quickly. I’m not sure how long the proceedings lasted and what was the reason for the pressure to move along quickly, but I felt it might have pressured Josh to accept a settlement. I noticed that the parties were wearing the same clothing throughout the video and would assume that the mediations sessions took place in one day. Therefore I am not sure why the mediator pressed the parties to settle the case that day. I was part icularly concerned that Josh could not take the pressure since he had been previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. If I had been mediating this dispute, I would let the parties know that if they need time to think things through, they should be all means do so and not to feel that they had to reach an agreement right away. I think it is important that the parties feel comfortable with the settlement. I did like the fact that the mediator reminded Josh, that neither side would feel comfortable with the outcome. One party would feel as if he or she did not get what she wanted and the other party would feel that they got too much. However, if they went to litigation, it was quite possible that only one party would come away feeling cheated. This was a good technique for getting the parties to come to an agreement. If I was the attorney representing Josh Resnick, I would have had some concerns about the mediator’s neutrality at first. At the very beginning when Resnikck’s attorney was stating Josh’s case, the mediator appeared to be irritated or bored. His lips were pursed and he fidgeted with his fingers, at times tapping his fingers on his note pad. At one point he took out his pen and began to fidget with it. When it was time to listen to Steven’s lawyer, the mediator appeared to have suddenly become more relaxed. The fidgeting stopped and he appeared to be even more engaged. However, his lips remained pursed. However, the Mediator continued to remain engaged for both sides from here on in and his