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Protocol
The goal of So-Fair Mediation, in all venues of application, whether business, divorce, custody, or premarital agreements, is to enable clients to develop options that can result in mutually acceptable decisions. All meetings will be honored with discretion and respect and all involved parties will agree, in writing, to total confidentiality. None of the work accomplished during mediation will be permitted to be used in any court proceedings.
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a process typically sought by parties to resolve problems and disputes out of court. In some cases, a collabrative effort can be made, at the request of the parties, for the mediator to work together with the disputants and their attorneys after resolution of an agreement.
The competent mediator applies proven research and uses the tools of communication, education and evaluation to direct the parties along the lines of quid pro quo (give and take) in order to achieve a mutually acceptable agreement. In the mediation sessions, participants can learn and apply negotiation and communication skills. This process emphasizes the resolution of immediate issues and ways to problem-solve within a limited time frame. It helps to prioritize problems to work through and then to develop viable options. The mediator helps participants to uncover underlying fears, clarify common and divergent expectations, create realistic resolutions, and finally, acts as a facilitator to produce the end product, that is, the documentation of an agreement.
Caucus
So-Fair Mediation provides separate sessions to consult with only one disputant in order to achieve a strategy prior to negotiations with the other part. In this way, the client can enter negotiation with a plan of action, knowledge regarding the pros and cons of particular issues, and some fundamentals that can or cannot be accepted. This process can be used by a couple going through separation or divorce, at their mutual request. In such a situation, the mediator will meet with each party separately and together. In this way the mediator can better understand what each party wants, and in joint sessions, help them to achieve, oftentimes, a quid pro quo solution. |