This chapter explains how to prepare for your mediation session.
While mediation isn’t nearly as complicated as a full-scale court trial, there are still many things you can do to improve your chances of achieving a positive result. How much preparation you do will depend on the facts of the dispute and how significant it is to you.
A small consumer dispute worth a couple of hundred dollars, for example, is unlikely to require nearly as much preparation as a work-related sexual harassment claim involving a lot of money and the future of your business or career.To get ready for your mediation, you’ll usually want to:
• review the mediation rules
• gather documents and other items you want to present in the mediation
• decide whether anyone should attend the mediation with you (and make the necessary arrangements)
• identify your goals, including both what you hope to achieve and the minimum you will accept, and
• write a memorandum for the mediator, outlining your version of the facts and the issues involved in the dispute.
For information on preparing your opening statement and figuring out how best to present your case, see Chapter 6.
A.