disputes mediated

 

 

 Why use 
 Disputes 
 Mediated? 

 

Generally

Disputes Mediated service:

  • Provides good value for money.
  • Can be used at convenient times.
  • Can be arranged at any point during your dispute, whether at the very start or after positions have become entrenched.
  • Can be used whether or not you have lawyers involved.
  • Helps the parties to negotiate, with the negotiations being led by one of our legally qualified and experienced mediators.
  • Enables the parties to enter into a legally binding settlement agreement.
  • Helps parties avoid the pitfalls that can arise in the enforcement of a county court judgment.
  • Helps parties achieve convenient and practical solutions, including ones which the court doesn’t have the power to order.
  • Can achieve solutions which can’t be appealed.
  • Helps improve future relationships between the parties, whether commercial or domestic.

Cost

Before court proceedings are started or defended sensible litigants should consider all of the financial implications, not just the financial cost of the case itself but also the risks of being ordered to pay the opponent’s costs too should they be unsuccessful. Not only will there be legal costs involved but also the cost to the parties themselves in time and energy.

On top of this there are court fees, which have to be paid to the Court Service for the issue and trial of any action. Following changes in government policy, these have become even more expensive. For example, the court fees for a claim worth between £50,000 - £100,000 are at least £2,000.

The range of court fees payable in family cases can be difficult to assess at the outset, but they could well exceed £500.

By contrast, the cost of our services are modest, and would rarely exceed £1,000 per party, usually significantly less. In family disputes they would be significantly lower (see the “family” section for details).
The precise sum payable for our service will depend on the nature of the dispute, the sums involved, and the likely time needed. We will give you a fixed written quote so that you know exactly how much you will have to pay to use our service.

The courts themselves now encourage parties to resolve disputes in a different way and there may be serious costs consequences to parties, even if successful before the court, if they have failed to try and do so by using a service such as ours before embarking on litigation.

To find out how much our service will cost for your dispute click here to fill out our online contact form or phone David Bingham on 01273 625625

Convenience

In any court proceedings, parties have to fit in with a court timetable which may be inappropriate and inconvenient.

The times of court hearings are limited (usually 10.00 - 16.00) and the location of courts can be inconvenient. There are frequently delays in cases being heard, with a number of costly administrative hearings along the way. Increasingly trials are being adjourned at very short notice, often the day before the trial was due to take place – at a time when the cancellation fees payable to your lawyers and any expert witnesses are usually 100% of the trial fees.

Witnesses have to be called, who may struggle to attend at a time of the court’s choosing. Giving evidence in court can be an unpleasant experience and witnesses may be reluctant to do so.

Even once a trial has finished there can be further delays in obtaining a decision, which itself may then be subject to an equally lengthy and expensive appeal process.

By contrast we will fix a date, time, and place for consideration of the dispute entirely by agreement with, and at the convenience of, the parties.

Finality

Where agreement is reached in the case of an arbitration or family mediation (once a Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed and lodged at Court), the parties will be legally bound by that agreement. There will be no risk of appeal or further uncertainty. Importantly, the agreement will have taken into account the commercial realities of the parties’ respective positions and the practicalities of enforcement, which can spare the parties an often expensive and frustrating further stage of proceedings after a court trial.