Mediation and Arbitration
Abraham Lincoln’s advice to lawyers in 1850 is still good advice today: “Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time …”.
Following Lincoln’s advice, two forms of “alternative dispute resolution” — mediation and arbitration — are being used more frequently today in central Illinois.
Mediation: For persons facing a divorce or custody dispute, mediation is an alternative to the traditional legal process that turns spouses into adversaries. Many husbands and wives, faced with the trauma already involved in the breakdown of their marriage, do not want to add to that pain, and are looking for a better way in which to dissolve their marital relationship while negotiating the numerous legal issues that need to be decided. If a couple has children, they may realize that they will forever remain parents together even though the marital bond or other relationship is dissolved.
Mediation is a process where the parties, with the assistance of a trained, neutral professional, attempt to resolve their conflicts in a cooperative and self-empowering manner.
The most basic principle of mediation is that the parties are the ones who decide for themselves what will work and what won’t.
Mediation can be used in a wide variety of circumstances. Besides family law cases, mediation can be used to help resolve differences regarding the care of an elderly relative, disputes between landlords and tenants, and disagreements about contracts and monies owed.
Arbitration: Parties submitting to arbitration allow a trained professional who is not a judge to make decisions about their dispute.