Basing on the current issues concerning pre-suit mediation, the former employee has grievances with the company, and the judge prefers a solution to be found through a mediation process. Mediation process provides an avenue for the company and the former employee to reach an agreement fair to both parties. The company representative needs to be familiar with the process to achieve effective mediation. The paper discusses advantages and disadvantages of mediation as well as the effectiveness and procedure of the involvement of other parties for reaching consensus. Moreover, it discusses the participation of the company in the process and confidentiality of information shared among the parties during the mediation process https://essaystore.net

To begin with, mediation has lots of advantages. Firstly, in case of a dispute personnel or a particular person is involved into the voluntary procedure on voluntary basis. Secondly, it is relatively cheap and simple because there are no procedural rules to be followed unlike in courtrooms. Thirdly, it is known to be equal and fair because it reflects the interest of parties in a dispute, the relationship is observed, for example, employer-employee relationship. Lastly, all parties in mediation have a right to go to court if they are not satisfied with the outcome. Among numerous advantages, several disadvantages should be taken into consideration. One of the disadvantages is that mediation procedure might be regarded as informal one which might hinder dispute resolution. Secondly, it might be hard when other parties refuse to maintain the relationship, thus increasing hostility surrounding the dispute process. Lastly, one party might use another party’s allegation information in the court of law in case of failure in agreement.

The mediation is likely to be successful when the former employee is willing to maintain the relationship, and there are realistic options for dispute resolution. It can be achieved by fully understanding the disputes and having determination for dispute resolution during the mediation. The process is less hostile when the parties want to maintain their relationship as well as having realistic options for dispute resolution. It is relatively cheap in terms of money and time compared to litigation because there are no procedural rules and no extensive discoveries that are required to reach a solution. As a result, a person cannot be forced to share the information that he/she does not want, so it may become an obstacle to those who tries to help in reaching a solution. Moreover, the procedure of mediation is not so long-lasting comparing to that may occur in litigation where the disputes must follow court procedures including listening to the witnesses and testimonies.

It is necessary for the boss to be present during the mediation process, because he/she is the most important representative of the company in such occasions. He/she knows much information about the company including confidential information and rules, and it puts him/her in the right position to mediate on behalf of the company. The success of mediation depends on not only the knowledge of the parties, but also their interests, preparedness, and readiness (Jones & Pexton, 2015). As a result, the boss must be ready and has an interest in the process to succeed. Alternatively, the boss can be excused for being uninterested or unfamiliar with the process which might sabotage the process. In such cases, he/she can be represented by a person who is familiar with the process and who has no conflicting interest such as his/her attorney.

An attorney can represent a party in a dialog during mediation, but he/she needs to be aware of information concerning the dispute to ensure representation in a positing way. As such, the boss can send her attorney to represent the company. In such a case, the attorney must remain steadfast during the mediation process while maintaining the code of conduct as well as be ready to attain an outcome that is fair to the company. In addition, the attorney should be ready and willing to reach a fair agreement without sabotaging the process. However, most disputes are successful due to maintaining relationship such as employer-employee relationship which might not be the case of attorney representation.

The company must participate in the mediation because it is a mandatory for pre-suit mediation. Moreover, an effective mediation requires to be active participation of all participants, particularly the parties of the mediation process. The presence of all parties is essential for the success of mediation. As long as the main objective of mediation is to resolve the dispute among parties and to reach consensus which will consider the interest of all parties, parties are needed to be present during the process to discuss all points. Considering the fact that the mediation is aimed at providing the only solution on permanent basis, not any third parties should be involved in the process; in another case it may lead to the failure of the whole process.

In addition, the participation of all parties in a mediation process is important due to a number of reasons. It contributes a lot in attaining a resolution that is fair for all parties. All the parties are given a chance to share their grievances or their sides of the story as well as answer the questions which may have a great influence on the dispute resolution. The company participation gives an opportunity to defend itself from the allegations of the former employee. Secondly, the participation of the company gives a chance to share relevant information that can help reach a solution on voluntary basis. A permanent solution cannot be reached with a third party but between the parties itself in a dispute. The representatives of the parties are expected to be active during the process. Therefore, the representative of the company should be ready and willing to share relevant information that will help to reach an ultimate solution.

Active participation of the company representative during mediation is important for effective mediation and success of the mediation itself. One advantage of mediation with the involvement of the company is that the representative may share the information on voluntary basis, and he/she may share the information necessary only for solving particular case.

However, there is a risk for the secret or private information to be disclosed. In case, the dispute involves the points where the confidential information needs to be shared for solving the issue, the risk may occur, especially when there is a failure in the mediation process and all information needs to be sent to the court. However, it is common for parties to sign a confidential agreement that they will not use the information shared during mediation with anyone including trial, but sometime this is not the case when parties proceed to court. Although confidentiality is critical for the success of mediation, it might be a downfall for one party when the information is used in a trial in case there is a failure in the process.

The boss and her attorney must be careful on their choice of words. They should strain from sharing private or confidential information in the dialogue during mediation which might be used by the former employee against them in case the process fails. Confidential information will weaken the side of the company and strengthen the allegation being made by the former employee. As a result, it may lead to the case that the former employee wins the accusation because he/she will have more supporting evidence for his/her allegations. Although the signing of a confidential agreement might prevent the former employee from using information shared during mediation, it might be bridged when a court asks private information from parties which consequently may lead to disclosure of confidentiality.

In conclusion, mediation is a very important process in dispute resolution due to lots of factors considering the cost of this procedure and simplification of adopting it. Although the parties involved need to be familiar with the process, the active participation of all parties involved in a dispute is critical for reaching a solution and an appropriate presentation of interest of all parties. Although the process of mediation is considered to be simple and does not comprise lots of rules to follow, the parties should strain from sharing confidential information that might be used against them in trial when mediation fails. In case of fear to have the information shared during the mediation process used, a confidential agreement can be signed.