By Sarah Mallas Wayman
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The vast majority of lawsuits settle short of final trial often at the proverbial 11th hour after every possible pretrial expense has drained the bank accounts. With the guidance of an experienced mediator, that same resolution or settlement could have been achieved earlier with significantly less expense. Mediation allows the parties to resolve their dispute and get on with their personal and business lives, saving resources of time, money, stress and frustration. Submitting disputes to mediation is clearly more effective, efficient and economical than waiting to go to a trial at sometime in the distant future.
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When your dispute involves another person with whom you wish to remain on good terms, mediation is valuable: Family members, co-workers, business partners, landlords, neighbors, or others you have a personal or business relationship with are likely to respect a mediation effort over a prolonged court case and trial. Too often, lawsuits ruin relationships while mediation can get a dispute resolved without destruction of personal or business relationships.
Confidentiality is another advantage of mediation: What you say during mediation cannot legally be revealed outside the mediation proceedings or used later in a court of law. In contrast, by going to court, almost everything becomes available to the public.
Mediation will nearly always save you money. The mediator can identify the strengths and weaknesses of each side and open the door to a mutually acceptable settlement. My experience has shown that clients who have freely arrived at their own solutions through mediation are usually pleased and free of all the pain from prolonged litigation.
Mediation is a preferred way to resolve disputes. I am happy to discuss mediation possibilities with you and there is no cost for the initial conference.
Sincerely,
Sarah Mallas Wayman
7600 Hunters Woods Drive
Atlanta, GA 30350
(770) 804.8484
smwlaw@bellsouth.net