Mediation – What You Should Know
When looking for someone to mediate your dispute, whether the matter is in litigation or not, there are several factors that you want to consider:
1. What is the mediator’s background?
Most mediators have undertaken an extensive training course prior to beginning to practice as a mediator. I am on the mediation panel of the San Diego Superior Court, which requires a 32-hour course and at least six mediations of two hours or more prior to joining the panel. I took a 40-hour course through North County Lifeline in Vista, California and then mediated or co-mediated approximately 12 cases prior to joining the San Diego Superior Court panel. Equally as important, I began my career in the law working for the San Diego County District Attorney (“SDCDA”) in the area of child support enforcement; in that capacity, I generally mediated 6-12 child support disputes between custodial parents and non-custodial parents in any given day. Spending 15 or 16 months with SDCDA sharpened my mediation skills dramatically and gave me a great foundation to take into my civil mediation practice.
2. How do I know the mediator will be fair and impartial?
There is no way of ever knowing for sure that a mediator will be fair and impartial. That said, a mediator does not make a decision for you; mediation is a voluntary process and ultimately you choose whether or not to resolve your matter. A mediator’s job is to narrow the issues and to assist the parties in focusing on areas of agreement and disagreement, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the areas of disagreement. I believe my background makes me uniquely qualified to mediate civil litigation disputes. I have worked equally for plaintiffs and defendants in my career; I have prosecuted cases for homeowners and defended cases for homeowner’s associations. I have prosecuted insurance bad faith cases for insureds who have been denied benefits and I have defended bad faith cases on behalf of insurers. I have represented plaintiffs who were wrongfully terminated and/or discriminated against and I have defended employers accused of wrongfully terminating an employee and/or discriminating against an employee. In short, I believe one of my biggest strengths is being able to see both sides of an issue, and my background allows me to assess any given matter from both a plaintiff’s perspective and a defendant’s perspective.
3. How much will a mediator charge? Are there any hidden fees or costs that I should know about?
Mediators charge anywhere from $150/hr. (generally a reduced rate through the San Diego Superior Court mediation program) to $500-600/hr. (for a retired judge). If you use AAA or JAMS, you will also likely pay an administrative fee of $150-175 per party. Some mediators will charge you an additional fee to read your pre-mediation brief.
Whether or not you seek out my mediation services through the San Diego Superior Court, my rates are simple: $150/hr. for the first two hours (with a two-hour minimum) and $250/hr. thereafter. My fees are split evenly among the parties unless the parties agree to a different arrangement. I do not charge any administrative fee, nor do I charge for the time spent reading your mediation brief. I charge for the time we spend mediating your matter. Period.
4. How do I know that the dispute will be fully resolved if we settle at mediation?
Generally speaking, if a dispute is resolved at mediation the parties will enter into an agreement that is binding, admissible, and enforceable. Oftentimes a simple agreement will be entered into at the conclusion of your mediation, and thereafter the parties may enter into a more formal and comprehensive agreement. However, the simple agreement entered into at the conclusion of the mediation generally will stand on its own and will encapsulate the most important terms and conditions of a settlement agreement.
5. What if I do not have a lawyer but still want to mediate a case?
There is nothing to prevent a non-represented party from mediating a dispute with a represented party (or another non-represented party), and in fact if you cannot afford a lawyer or do not want to share a portion of your settlement with a lawyer then you may be wise to try to mediate a dispute prior to engaging the services of a lawyer. The court system is awfully difficult to navigate without a lawyer, and it can be time-consuming and expensive. It is presently $350 to file a civil complaint in San Diego Superior Court; hypothetically, you could spend two hours mediating your dispute for $300; if the case resolves then you’re done, and if not then you file a complaint in court but you have hopefully narrowed the issues and understand better your opponent’s strategy and claims or defenses. Really, it’s a no-lose proposition. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to call and I’d be happy to address those questions with you.
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