There are two well-known alternatives to starting a lawsuit when two parties want to settle a disagreement or other sorts of legal arguments: arbitration and mediation. The procedures are completely different but they are combined by the same idea – avoiding trial. Of course, you can, and as a matter of fact, it’s highly advisable that you hire an attorney to represent you and to protect your legal rights, especially if the opposite party has already done so in advance.
Mediation
This is the procedure under which both parties have the same goal and they are looking forward to achieving it – they want to reach an agreement. This means that there isn’t going to be any kind of outside ruling and that the agreement is going to be reached through negotiations and mutual compromises. Mediation is the dull process in which an outside mediator is going to try and facilitate the discussion without having a say in the final decision. All of the agreements and conclusions which are reached are going to originate from the arguing parties in the first place. Mediation is a procedure which is incredibly beneficial and it might turn out to be amongst the best options if both parties are willing to negotiate a way out of the argument. However only a personal injury lawyer in Kitchener can do it.
It’s worth noting that this is the far less expensive procedure as opposed to traditional litigation because there are no legal fees and you are only going to have to pay the outside and independent mediator for his services of facilitating the entire process.
Understanding the terms under arbitration
Arbitration, on the other hand, is the process where both parties are going to come to an agreement with arbitration. There is an arbitrator involved who is going to be making the final decision. This is much like the judge’s ruling as an outside party is going to be settling the case. In fact, the similarities are far too many so it’s worth pointing out that arbitration is a lot less expensive and much faster than the regular trial procedure.
This is the main reason for which a lot of agreements are going to include the arbitration clause – the parties are obligated under the agreement to seek to resolve the argument through arbitration instead of taking the case to court.
There is a lot of merit to both solutions but it is worth finding out which one would work better in the particular situation. If the parties aren’t inclined to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement they should certainly overlook mediation and go straight for arbitration. Of course, if they are willing to compromise and want to reach the final decision on their own, without relying and depending on a third party – the solution would be mediation.
However, it is essential that if you intend to opt for mediation or arbitration before filing a case, consult a personal injury lawyer in Toronto.