Dispute Resolution

“Commercial mediation enables businesses to conduct their business – instead of being distracted by disputes.”

Once a negotiation has reached impasse, mediation provides businesses and their leaders with another chance at resolving their day to day commercial conflicts or even large and complex disputes on their own terms.

Parties – and their attorneys – which engage in a mediation get to discuss and eventually resolve their legally-framed disputes. Ideally, a future oriented business solution can be found, but mediation also helps to manage a clear cut between the parties.

The key features of mediation are the following: 

• Two or more negotiation partners voluntarily take part in a confidential negotiation assisted by a third party neutral, the mediator.
• The mediator has no decision making power, hence, the mediator may “only” assist the parties to reach a mutually agreeable settlement.
• The mediator does so by providing a procedural framework within which the parties feel save to share their underlying interests which they were unable or unwilling to share in the prior direct negotiation.
• Based on the shared additional information as well as manifold mediation techniques the parties get to overcome impasse and explore and agree on more creative solutions.
• Mediation usually produces a satisfactory outcome within a short period of time and takes place at an agreed upon neutral venue – or nowadays also online.

We all know that conflicts are a source of energy. Instead of letting this energy be drained throughout lengthy proceedings, mediation empowers the parties to use this energy to turn the discussion into a constructive controversy.

Mediation is not about being right or wrong. It is about acknowledging that there are multiple ways of perceiving a given situation – the goal is to find a solution that is acceptable under multiple perspectives. Ideally, this will be a win-win-scenario, however, more realistically it is probably rather some sort of “a problem shared is a problem halved”.

By the way, mediation is not even necessarily about resolving a dispute. In the form of a so called “deal mediation” a mediator can also, from the very outset, assist parties to negotiate and conclude a complex deal.

Also, mediation does not necessarily exclude or replace litigation or arbitration. Disputants are free to move from such adjudicative modes to settlement modes (such as negotiation and mediation) and back again. “Today as never before, commercial dispute processing is ‘mixed mode'” (Thomas J. Stipanowich). Arb-Med-Arb is on everyone’s lips.

Luckily, as a brilliant mediator used to put it: “The odds of finding that elusive agreement are surprisingly high” (Steve Rottman). This experience corresponds to the statistical success rate for mediations which is usually reported to be around 80%. Even if the case does not resolve completely, issues are narrowed down which helps to better manage the risk and reduce the costs going forward.

Julia Jung employs a flexible mediation style, recognizing that the dynamics of each case are unique. Her education and practical experience permit her to mediate all sorts of commercial and investor-state disputes. She is able to work with people who have doubts regarding the potential for dispute resolution through mediation. Her key strength is to keep the overview in complex situations. Also, she understands how to foster a creative way of resolving disputes. Last but not least, she has her own way of being respectful yet persistent in her efforts to help parties reach settlement.

Ideally, when contacting Julia for a first interview as potential mediator, the parties will already have agreed to mediate and exchanged acceptable names. Yet, Julia is also happy to assist in obtaining the agreement of others to mediate – whether with or without her as the mediator.

If you are still not sure whether mediation is the right choice for you – please consult Julia’s article “Rumors about Mediation“.

“You can achieve solutions you might not even believe they exist!”