28th of August 2021, by Sascha Stavenuiter
act legal is expanding! Not only by hiring more people this time, but also in terms of expertise. In addition to legal services, we now also offer mediation. Do you have a business conflict? Then mediation could just be a good alternative to legal proceedings.
What exactly is mediation?
Mediation is a process in which conflicting parties try to find a solution that both parties can agree to, under supervision of an independent and impartial mediator, who assists the parties in this process.
There are significant differences between mediation and legal proceedings
Serious conflicts can arise in the business world, for example between shareholders, directors or external parties. This often leads to legal proceedings that cost a lot of time and money. During a legal procedure, parties are directly opposed to each other. Often they burrow deeper and deeper into their own trenches, causing the two parties to become further and further apart. Once in court, it appears that the conflict is not resolved. After all, a judge only decides on the legal points. One of the parties has been legally right, but the conflict has often not diminished.
During a mediation, the mediator mainly focuses on improving communication between the parties and guiding the conversation in the right direction. The mediator has little or no involvement in the content of the conflict. Once communication has been restored, the parties can see if a solution can be found that does justice to their mutual interests. We are looking for a win-win situation. Nothing is impossible and everything is allowed: the parties themselves look for a solution and it does not have to be found within the law.
Advantages of mediation
The success rate of (business) mediations is high, at around 75%. The costs of mediation are much lower than that of legal proceedings and the turnaround time is much faster. Usually there is clarity within about 3 to 4 conversations of an hour or two.
Therefore, mediation is a way to resolve a conflict (or to make it manageable at least) in a relatively quick and cheap way. Even if the mediation does not lead to an all-clear result, the communication between the parties has usually improved afterwards. From a business point of view, mediation quickly becomes a good choice.
Have you become curious?
Are you curious whether mediation could also work for your conflict or do you have a question about business mediations? Please feel free to contact our mediator Sascha Stavenuiter. She will be happy to talk to you.
