As a business professional, you’re fully aware of just how easily conflicts can arise within the professional world. These business disputes can manifest in several different ways, and there has to be a means for settling these disputes both timely and inexpensively.
Oftentimes, contentious business disputes ultimately end up in court. While a judgment certainly can put an end to a pending lawsuit, the cost and time spent on litigation can be a huge burden, can seriously delay further business development, and often leaves one or both parties harboring resentment.
Business disputes can take many different shapes, but there is no doubt that the existence of these disputes can have negative effects on the professional environment of the business. Some of the most-common types of business disputes arising out of the San Diego area include:
Contract disputes
Breach of a verbal agreement
Conflict with or among employees
Partnership dissolution
With these types of conflicts, the parties involved may see no other means of resolution than litigation. San Diego mediator Rich Gordon strongly feels as though litigation should be seen as a last resort, and that every attempt should be made to resolve the conflict amicably and without the need for a long, drawn-out trial. This is the ultimate goal of mediation.
Working with a Business Mediator
A mediator’s job is to work with the parties involved in the dispute in order to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. In most cases, the parties come to an agreement at mediation while the attorneys draw up the actual settlement agreement at the end of mediation. In contrast to litigation, mediation can save a great deal of time and money, and also avoids the uncertainty of trial.
For those cases in which the parties have failed to reach an agreement through their own negotiations, hiring a mediator can often work wonders. Even if the parties have already begun litigation, mediation can offer a means to settle the lawsuit and avoid the cost and aggravation of time-consuming and prolonged litigation.
Mediation allows the parties to negotiate by engaging the assistance of a neutral third-party in order to settle the conflict. This process allows the parties to work toward a solution they might not have found themselves, as both sides are often “dug in” to their position.