Using This Book
This book explains every step of the mediation process, from deciding whether to mediate your dispute and choosing a mediator to writing and enforcing an agreement reached in mediation.
Chapters 1 through 9 describe the mediation process in detail, from start to finish—the information in these chapters will help you mediate virtually any kind of dispute. Chapters 10, 11, and 12 provide an in-depth look at some special issues that often arise in three types of disputes: divorce mediation (Chapter 10), mediation of business disputes (Chapter 11), and employment disputes (Chapter 12).Intro / 4
MEDIATE, DON'T LITIGATE
0Whot this book does not cover. The book does not cover mediation of disputes between labor unions and management. This aspect of mediation is governed by federal and state laws, and by the terms of union contracts. Special rules apply that are not generally applicable to other types of mediation. Nor does the book cover multiparty environmental disputes or disputes arising in other specialized areas of public policy.
As a mediator and an advocate in mediation, we have seen the magic of mediation work time after time. We have seen people with seemingly insoluble problems come together with a skilled mediator and, after a remarkably short time, emerge with their problem settled. Mediation doesn’t always succeed, of course, but most of the time it does. And when it does, it gives those who participate the valuable gifts of a fair and workable solution, an end to uncertainty and hostility, and the ability to put a problem behind them so they can get on with their lives.
That’s the magic of mediation as we know it. We hope this book will help you know it, too, and that mediation will offer you meaningful and lasting benefits.
Icons Used in This Book
