If you find yourself in a legal situation where a major or minor dispute needs to be settled, researching all of your options is the first step. In this post we talk about two main legal dispute resolution processes.
Mediation VS Litigation
Litigation
lit·i·ga·tionˌlidəˈɡāSH(ə)n/
noun
noun: litigation; plural noun: litigations
the process of taking legal action.
- The litigation process is all about taking people to court and being as aggressive as possible. It’s also about confrontation which isn’t really the most relaxing way to spend your day. But, sometimes you have to protect your rights and you can’t see any way around it.
Mediation
me·di·a·tionˌmēdēˈāSH(ə)n/
noun
noun: mediation; plural noun: mediations
intervention in a dispute in order to resolve it; arbitration.
- Mediation is a process where an impartial third party gets together with the participants to come to an unbiased, voluntary agreement. It is a fairly low key affair with much more discussing and much less fighting. The low impact approach is one of the main reasons it has been gaining in popularity in recent years.
To better illustrate the differences between mediation and litigation, take a look at the following points:
Litigation Specific
- Involves both parties and their respective attorneys
- Is a very adversarial process
- Usually starts at around 15 thousand dollars and goes upward from there
- All information you submit becomes part of the public record so you have little privacy
- All the power is in the hands of the judges and the lawyers because they have to make the decisions for the participants
- Judges, experts and custody evaluators are the ones that will be making decisions for the best interest of the children
- Any courtroom proceeding is a lengthy affair and larger ones can drag on for years and years
Mediation Specific
- Just involves the parties and a mediator which is usually an experienced attorney
- A fairly peaceful process that deals more with finding common ground than proving fault
- Mediation generally starts at around 3 thousand dollars and goes up from there
- All information is kept confidential so there is not a loss of privacy
- To come to a decision the parties get together to brainstorm and formulate mutually beneficial ideas
- The parties are responsible for any decisions impacting the children and they will usually draw up a parenting plan to formalize it
- It only takes as long as the parties decide it will but it is usually a substantially shorter time frame than litigation
Each of these forms of dispute resolution have great qualities that can help you get the outcome you’re looking for. At Slepian, Schwartz and Landgaard we offer both litigation and mediation services to suit the needs of any client’s situation. Give one of our attorneys a call today to discuss your case, we can help you determine what course of action would be best for you.
