With the costs of business litigation constantly rising and all the delays in our overburdened legal system, you may be looking for an alternative to taking your conflicts to court. Now is a great time to look at mediation to resolve your business disputes. The lawyers and mediators at Cobb Cole are ready to assist you with your legal issues. There are many ways that it can help you with your legal disputes. Keep reading to learn more about the merits of working with a mediator.
3 Ways Mediation May Be Helpful in Business Disputes
- Help Maintain Important Business Relationships
- Increase Flexibility and Options
- Control Situation and Costs
Help Maintain Important Business Relationships
Taking a legal controversy to court can often do irreparable harm to the underlying working relationship. Not surprisingly, people generally take getting sued or served with legal papers quite personally. When you are unable to resolve business disputes with a client or vendor, suggesting that you meet together with a mediator is a great way to keep the dispute from turning into an adversarial situation. Meeting and talking with a trained neutral party is a good first step toward a resolution that can benefit both parties and keep important working relations viable and ongoing.
Think about what may happen if you are having a problem with a major vendor whose product is essential to your business. You could grit your teeth and ignore the issue which never has good results. You could sue and prevail in Court but lose your supplier and your business. Or you could pursue mediation with the help of a skilled attorney mediator from Cobb Cole and resolve the issues and keep your supplier and business.
More Flexibility and Options
One of the reasons the process can be so beneficial to your business and working relationships is the flexibility and options available to resolve issues. Standard or traditional legal actions or lawsuits are very black and white, for example, did you follow the terms of the contract, was the product delivered on time? If X happened, then Y is the result. There is no room to discuss options or try to repair a problem. Judges unfortunately are not allowed to just talk with the participants in a lawsuit and suggest ways to settle a case. A judge often knows that there is a simple solution that would make the lawsuit unnecessary but cannot say that. That is why many courts and state legal systems recommend or even require mediation before lawsuits go forward. They understand that it is a very effective tool for conflict resolution.
Enter the neutral and trusted mediators from Cobb Cole Law Firm who understand business issues and can aid you in discussing your issues, exploring options, and reaching mutually beneficial solutions. Mediation can be more informal than litigation and makes it easier to discuss problems and resolutions rather than focusing on who is right and who is wrong. Where lawsuits focus on winners and losers, mediators have more of a win-win perspective. Less litigation or legal wrangling and more negotiation.
Greater Control of the Resolution and Costs
Another benefit is that it allows you more control over the situation. You are able to explore options with a neutral third-party mediator that becomes aware of your specific circumstances and needs. This is especially true with the skilled business law mediators from Cobb Cole. In your meeting or meetings, you can reach an agreement that differs from the terms of the contract involved in the disagreement. You can meet in the middle ground which is often good for both parties. A compromise or resolution that works for both businesses is generally not available in the traditional legal system which can only rule that “your opponent” has not followed the contract and punish him with monetary damages. In mediation, your mediator can help you both express your positions and hopefully find a way to repair the problem and keep you both working together.
Because the process usually involves only a couple of meetings with an attorney mediator and not all the involved paperwork and court hearing of standard litigation, it is a more cost-effective way to handle business disputes. And an added benefit is that even if mediation does not totally resolve the controversy, it generally helps clarify the pertinent issues and helps you be better prepared if litigation is needed.
Cobb Cole – Attorneys and Mediators
The legal team of attorneys and attorney mediators at Cobb Cole is ready to help you successfully handle your business disputes. If you are looking for an attorney to help you resolve your legal issues, they can assist you as a mediator or with other legal needs. Or if you already have an attorney and are considering mediation, their team of attorney mediators will aid you.
