Negotiation & Mediation

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many times when people attempt to negotiate and are met with a stone wall by the other party, as they do not think they have to respond to idle threats. However, once a lawyer is engaged, the stone wall may be gradually removed, and the parties can be assisted to reach a voluntary resolution of the matter without litigation.

Hutchinson Legal has negotiated and participated in mediation in a wide variety of matters which have been successfully resolved to the satisfaction of our clients. Our skilled team take a pragmatic and commercial approach to the resolution of disputes by negotiation principally to save our clients the much higher costs of having a matter determined by a court.

What is the difference between mediation and arbitration?

Arbitration and mediation are similar in that they are alternatives to traditional litigation, and sometimes they are used in conjunction with litigation. Both arbitration and mediation employ a neutral third party to oversee the process, and they both can be binding. However, it is common to employ mediation as a non-binding process and arbitration as a binding process. In simpler terms, binding arbitration replaces the trial process with the arbitration process.

Arbitrators take on a role like that of a judge, make decisions about evidence and give written opinions (which can be binding or non-binding).

Mediation, on the other hand, is generally conducted with a single mediator who does not judge the case but simply helps to facilitate discussion and eventual resolution of the dispute.

Questions? Ask our Disputes & Litigation team.

Phillip Liberatore
Senior Lawyer
Disputes & Litigation
,
Employment
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,
Rod Veith
Lawyer
Employment
,
Disputes & Litigation
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03 9870 9870