Whenever you see a fictional courtroom dispute on the TV or in a movie, the two parties and their legal representatives are usually acting aggressively toward each other. The very fact they are litigating makes it easy for things to escalate and become polarized. That means the dispute is likely to take longer and cost more.
Mediation does not make for great drama which is why you rarely see it on the screen. Rather than seeing the other party in court, with a judge presiding over affairs, you sit around a table with a mediator. Each of you can take a legal representative with you, too.
Mediation helps you find a solution you can both accept
It requires a very different mindset from litigation. You need to accept that you don’t see eye to eye on everything and try to find a happy compromise you can both live with. Litigation, by contrast, often leaves one party feeling as though they lost, which could lead to appeals and further problems between the two.
The mediator is not there to tell you what to do. They are there to help you reach a compromise. They will try to pull things back on track if you go off course and try to find that magical balance that you might struggle to reach by yourselves.
Mediation can reduce the conflict, making it easier for you both to continue dealing with each other afterward. It will also spare you the heavy emotional damage that litigation can cause for both parties and anyone who feels caught in the middle.
There is help available to learn more if you feel mediation could help you resolve your dispute.