Mediation for Small Businesses
by
Attorney Emily Doskow
Mediation is cheaper, faster, and more amicable than taking a dispute to court.
Small businesses may benefit tremendously from using mediation -- rather than litigation -- to resolve conflicts. Small business owners are just as likely as major corporations to run into conflict with neighboring businesses, employees, customers, vendors, or with their own business partners, yet unlike corporations, small business often lack public relations, human resources, and legal departments to help them deal with these conflicts.
It is often overwhelming for a small business to come up with the time, money, and expertise to cope with a relatively minor dispute through legal means. What’s more, unless the situation is resolved amicably, the leftover hostility could affect a small business owner's quality of life -- it can be unpleasant to bump up against an unfriendly party on a day-to-day basis.
Mediation is an efficient and effective way to resolve disputes and build community among small business people and their customers and neighbors.
The Mediation Alternative
Mediation offers another way to resolve conflict -- one that can help you and the other party come to a genuine understanding and find a resolution that addresses both of your needs and interests. In mediation, a neutral third person -- the mediator -- meets with parties who are having a conflict to help them try to work it out together. Because you and the other party make the agreement together, you are both more likely to keep it. Also, the process of working things out in mediation is an experience you and the other party can draw upon if you run into problems again in the future.
For more on mediation, see Nolo's Mediation Resource Center.
Costs of Mediation
Mediation is usually much less expensive than hiring a lawyer. Community mediation centers offer low-cost services, and even if you hire a private mediator who charges by the hour, you'll be sharing the cost with the other party instead of paying a lawyer on your own. Mediation also works more quickly -- it usually only lasts a few hours, compared to the many hours a lawyer would spend preparing your case and arguing with the other side.
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