Signing the Agreement
When you and the other party have read and agreed to each provision of your agreement (and, if necessary, your advisers have reviewed and approved it), you are then ready for the last act of the mediation session: the signing.
If you sign at the mediation service, the mediator will likely hand you and the other disputant a typed copy of the agreement, then read it aloud to make sure that no further changes are needed. If the agreement is written in the form of a contract, the mediator may remind you that it is legally binding and potentially enforceable in court, and that the mediation service will be available to help if you need to revise the agreement. (See Chapter 9, Section A, for information on handling modifications.) The mediator may also remind you that you agreed to keep everything said or revealed during the session confidential.
The mediator will then ask each of you to sign the agreement. The mediator, too, will probably sign. Sometimes, signatures will be notarized by a notary on staff. Having a signature notarized is a good idea if you anticipate any need to prove, to a court or arbitrator, that the signature on the agreement is genuine. Be sure to get a copy of the agreement for yourself before you leave the mediation.
If you signed an outline or preliminary draft of the agreement in the mediator’s presence and saved the details to be negotiated later, then the signing of the final mediation agreement will most likely be done by phone or fax.
SHAKE ON IT?
Exactly what do people who have been engaged in a bitter dispute do when they sign their names to a paper ending the matter?
Some mediators have handled cases, such as those involving estranged relatives or friends, where the parties reconciled through mediation and concluded the session with an embrace. At nonprofit community mediation centers, disputants are sometimes so grateful for the center’s help that before they leave they offer a financial contribution, even though none is required.
Typically, though, the mediator will end the session simply by shaking hands with each of the parties and congratulating them on the successful result of their hard work. With a nod to one or both of the parties, the mediator may encourage them to shake hands. Some disputants feel enough relief and understanding of each other’s positions to take the cue and end the session with a handshake. Others prefer to simply take their copy of the agreement and go home. ■