MEDIATION CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS STAY ON TRACK

MEDIATION CLAUSES WORK

            Mediation is an important tool that an employer should use to reduce the cost and disruption of litigation.  The best way to do this is to include a mediation clause in your employment and customer contracts.

             When your contract with a customer includes a mediation clause, you have an opportunity to resolve a dispute quickly and with minimal disruption to your relationship with your customer.  For instance, a local automobile dealership in Alexandria, VA includes a mediation clause in its sales contracts with its customers.  McMurray Dispute Resolution has been effective in helping this dealer address customer complaints swiftly and successfully.  The customer walks away satisfied, the dealer’s reputation is not tarnished, and very little time is wasted in unproductive legal haggling.  Virtually every business should include this time- and money-saving clause in its contracts.

             Likewise, mediation clauses in employment contracts provide a means to address employment issues with a minimum of stress.  It is common in the workplace for small grievances to blow up quickly.  A skilled mediator can help address both the immediate issue and the root causes behind it.  Salvaging your relationship with your employee, and addressing underlying issues or practices that may have undermined it, is good for your workplace environment and good for your bottom line.  In discrimination cases, a skilled mediator can help address the anger and frustration that both parties may experience.  Handling these issues in a confidential and respectful environment, as opposed to the combative environment of the courtroom, is more likely to save your business time and money.

Chris McMurray

The benefits of mediation are many:

• Disputes can be addressed and resolved quickly. They are not stuck in the congested dockets of today’s courts. The typical mediation takes less than a day to resolve. However, complex cases, or cases involving many parties, may take longer.

• In the vast majority of cases, mediation is less expensive than litigation. No discovery or depositions are required (although some discovery may have taken place in connection with the court case), and attorney and expert witness hours are usually much lower.

• Given the collaborative nature of the mediation process, it is easier to maintain a good relationship with the other party, which is often an important business consideration.

• Lost employee time is greatly reduced.

• The parties control the outcome; it is not left to a judge or jury.