Page 16 - Demo

THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS
b. Mediation:
Mediation involves a meeting between the parties themselves with a trained mediator who is a person who is experienced and educated in facilitating communication between the parties. It is not counseling and it is not intended to provide the parties with any long term therapeutic bene ts. It is intended as a way for the parties to meet and discuss resolutions of a speci c issue when their own communication skills are not at their best. Many parties nd that discussion through a mediator strengthens their communication skills and as a result their ability to solve problems themselves is considerably improved.
Some people nd it comfortable attending mediation without their lawyers. Other people feel more con dent if their lawyer is present. If you choose to have our of ces attend, we are there to support you and provide legal advise.
Mediation also has the bene ts of being considerably less expensive than the other mechanisms of problem solving that will be outlined in the correspondence. Negotiation through a lawyer obviously involves legal expense. Litigation, which is taking the matter to a Court for a Judge to decide, also involves considerable expenses. Mediation, by comparison, is very inexpensive and often a very effective way for parties to resolve their differences without involving either the lawyers or the Court.
Our of ces can assist you in preparing for mediation by helping you identify what speci c issues need to be addressed by the parties. As well, we will help you think about solutions that you may want to consider or that you may want to suggest to the other party in advance. We will help prepare you for the mediation session itself by outlining for you what to expect and by giving you some tips about more effective communications so as to get what you want during the session. If mediation is something you wish to pursue, our of ces have more extensive materials that we can provide you to assist you in this regard.
Mediation may not be suitable for families with a long history of control or abuse. Mediation may not be suitable for many nancial issues, where the expert advice of a lawyer is necessary or where information must be gathered.
c. Litigation
When the parties are unable to resolve their differences either by way of negotiation or by way of mediation, they may turn to litigation to resolve their differences. Litigation involves starting a new law suit and taking their problems to the Court for a Judge to decide. Litigation is obviously the most expensive of the three approaches to problem solving but for parties who have had no success at the other two approaches; it can be one mechanism by which problems can be solved.
Litigation also has another purpose in that sometimes the dif culty is getting one of the two parties to come to the negotiation table or to consider mediation. Sometimes the only approach is to commence a law suit in order to get the other party’s attention and to make the other party aware that you are quite serious about proceeding. As a result, many family law cases are resolved when one of the
two parties has proceeded to litigation and started a law suit which brings the other party to the negotiating table or brings the other party to mediation. The parties then either negotiate an out of Court settlement or mediate an agreement with a trained mediator. As a result, not every matter that proceeds to litigation is ultimately decided by a Judge. In fact, less than 5% of the cases in the Province of Ontario typically ever go to trial within the family law setting. The bulk of the cases in this province are resolved by out of Court settlements or by mediated agreements between the parties.
Litigation is also appropriate when one of the two parties is taking an extremely unreasonable position. For example, if one parent is refusing to pay child support for the other parent or if one
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