Mandatory Early Dispute Resolution: What Does Participation in Mediation Look Like?

Mediation is one option for Mandatory Early Family Dispute Resolution.

This is not quite mandatory mediation, it is one of the options you have to resolve your conflict before you can go to court.

What is mediation?

And what does it mean to truly participate in it? As a mediator, I’d like to share my perspective on these questions.

Mediation is a dispute resolution process.

I often describe it as an assisted, interest-based negotiation where I, as the mediator, help create conditions that improve the parties’ ability to negotiate an agreement that everyone is satisfied with.

What does participation in mediation look like?

Does it mean simply showing up for a meeting with a mediator? Or is there more to it? Is reaching an agreement required to say you’ve participated?

For me, participation means more than just being present. It involves actively communicating your interests, listening to the other party’s interests, and working together to generate new options that consider both sides. In fact, modifying your original position to accommodate the other party’s interests is, in my view, creating a completely new option.

To support this, we’ve designed an Introduction to Mediation Bundle. This bundle helps orient participants to the purpose of mediation, provides resources to enhance the benefits of the process, includes the mediation session itself, and includes a summary. Completing the steps of this bundle guarantees participation in mediation.