- Florida Certified Mediator Rules
- Florida Dispute Resolution Center at the Florida Supreme Court
- Florida Bar Ethics Opinions on Mediations by Attorneys
  
The questions answered below are not intended to resolve any person’s particular legal concerns. The specific details of each person’s case may affect the applicability of the information provided below to a person’s specific concerns. For information on your specific concerns, you may contact us at (954) 964-8107 or Contact@LawAndMediationLLC.com.

Mediation Questions (scroll down for answers):  

   1) Why should I try mediation if my spouse and I never 
   agree about anything?

   2)  How can mediation help me solve a legal problem?

   3) How can mediation help me to save money in legal 
   expenses?

   4) Can mediation weaken my legal positions in court?

   Answers:

   1) Certified mediators have met the training and certification requirements set by the Florida Supreme Court (click here for more information).  They are usually attorneys or other professionals such as psychologists or social workers who have been trained to conduct mediation settlement conferences.  A mediator assists disputing parties, as a neutral and impartial facilitator, to identify the issues and resolve their conflicts.  Many couples who are unable to resolve their differences find that the focused, problem solving process of mediation helps them to communicate more effectively with each other so that unnecessary squabbles are minimized and important issues are resolved.

  2) A mediator identifies the claims against the parties in a lawsuit and assists the parties to negotiate a settlement of each of the claims.  A mediator can also help to identify and resolve issues that the parties themselves have overlooked.  In a divorce, for example, a certified Family Court mediator should offer to assist a divorcing couple to calculate the child support payments required by law, even if the couple thought that they could make child support decisions entirely on their own.  A mediator cannot decide how to resolve legal issues for the parties, but a mediator can help them identify issues and potential solutions, so they will be better equipped to make the best decisions for themselves.

  3) Anyone who has been represented by a lawyer in a lawsuit knows that legal services are not cheap.  Legal fees based upon hourly billing rates can add up quickly in a lawsuit where the lawyer has to prepare and respond to motions, attend hearings, discover and analyze evidence, research legal issues, prepare for trial, and try a case before a judge or jury.  When disputed legal issues are settled through mediation the lawyer’s billing clock can be stopped.  Moreover, settling a case avoids the risk of a costly judgment being awarded to the other party if the judge or jury is swayed by the opposing party’s position.

  4) Mediation is a confidential process, and the offers and counter-offers made in mediation cannot be disclosed in court.  Statements made in mediation are confidential, and the fact that information was disclosed in mediation cannot be raised in court.  In a mediation, a party can also caucus privately with a mediator to discuss issues without the other party listening.  So long as good judgment is exercised and damaging information that can be demonstrated with evidence available outside of the mediation is not carelessly volunteered, mediation should not weaken someone’s legal positions in court.