Why Bring A Lawyer To A Mediation Session?
During a mediation session, the 2 disputing parties speak with a mediator. Mediation does not set the stage for a confrontational event, such as a trial. Still, it helps to bring a lawyer to such a session.
Benefits enjoyed by a disputant that brings an attorney to a scheduled mediation.
The attorney’s presence provides that same disputant with a ready source of advice. Personal injury lawyers in Redondo Beach understand what information should or should not be shared with a mediator, or with the other party. During some stages of the mediation session the other party gets to hear the statement from the opposing disputant. An injury lawyer can share with a disputing client the options that he or she has available, if a choice must be made, at some point during the session. The other party may not share information about an option that he or she does not want the opposing side to pursue.
By the same token, a lawyer’s presence can work to save a disputant from the need to deal with unwanted and unexpected consequences, as cause by a certain decision. A lawyer can warn a client about such possible consequences before the client’s decision has allowed for the development of such consequences.
Situations in which a disputant does not need an injury lawyer at a scheduled mediation session.
As much as a disputing party at a mediation might want to enjoy any of the benefits named above, that same individual might find that he or she has no right to bring along some member of the legal community. Indeed, that proves to be the case in 2 specific situations. If a dispute did not get settled in a small claims court, and thus proceeded to the stage at which mediation was needed, then neither of the disputing parties could bring an attorney to the mediation session. The reason for that rule becomes clear, when the second rule has been shared with the reader of this article.
A disputant cannot bring a lawyer to a mediation session, if the other party cannot afford the costs associated with hiring a member of the legal community. The mediator strives to get each disputant to recognize the strength of the argument being made by the other side. That task becomes all the more difficult, if one side can demonstrate the ability to access and utilize money that the other party lacks.
What is a lawyer’s attitude towards a mediation session?
A growing number of law schools are requiring their law students to devote some time to learning about how to serve as a mediator. During that classroom experience, the students learn how to help disputants recognize the valid points being made by the other side.