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 Business Mediation
How Mediation works
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Your matter can be settled with negotiation through mediation.
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Mediation is a optional practice to avoid the legal system to reach
an agreement.
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Legal advice may be necessary to provide you with an understanding
of the strength or weakness of your position to help you negotiate
but in many cases, a mediated common sense approach secures
success.
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Indeed, Mediation has the capacity to help resolve disputes at a
cost much, much lower than by using the legal profession.
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Mediation fees are shared by the mediation clients.
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An outcome is not imposed on the parties so the process of mediation
allows participants to remain in control.
Why us
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 Quick:
Mediation sessions are often resolved within 30 days.
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Informal: Our mediation process will not result in court or police records.
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Peaceful: Voluntarily resolving problems shows goodwill and builds cooperation.
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Empowering: Both sides are in control of the outcome; solutions are reached only
when both agree. If at any time either party is uncomfortable with the process
they may stop it.
Services
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 ITO
Mediation mediates all types of
disputes: personal, family, small business, commercial, corporate,
government and international.
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After hours service is available.
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Interstate matters - through our interstate ITO Mediation offices
we are able to arrange mediation if your matter concerns people or
companies located elsewhere.
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International disputes - Similarly, if your dispute is with a
person or company in another country we can arrange co-mediation using
any of our ITO Mediation offices and our International Strategic
Mediation Partner in most countries.
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Facilitation – Difficult situations
can be anticipated and negotiated when no dispute exists currently but
may occur because of the nature of the matter.
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Advocacy – in disputes where the other
party will not participate in mediation you are welcome to use our
Advocacy service where we solely represent you in the negotiation of a
settlement.
Company Profile
ITO Mediation is a division of ITO consulting
company who has been in business since June of 2000. We specialize in
employee-employer disputes as well as union-management settlements.
FAQ About Mediation
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a process in which people, organizations or businesses in
dispute are assisted by a Mediator to assist them to reach an agreement
which settles the dispute. Mediation encourages negotiation in a
non-threatening environment.
Mediation and the Legal profession ... how are they different?
There are two teams of lawyers: one representing the person who
initiated the proceedings; the Complainant, and the person defending the
case, the Defendant.
From the outset, the lawyers mostly adopt an aggressive position in
representing their clients in the case.
As a consequence of adopting that stance, the lawyers of each side
generally widen the dispute as they seek as many additional arguments
and accusations against the other side as is possible.
That means that even simple matters become complicated quite
unnecessarily and the clients find themselves in an evermore entangled
expensive legal battle.
In contrast, the process of mediation, instead of widening the dispute
tends to narrow it by encouraging clients to concentrate on the key
issues and focus on finding a mutually acceptable resolution.
Another difference is the rate of progress of the matter. In mediation,
there is an emphasis upon reaching agreement in as short a period as
possible. Providing the parties co-operate in that Endeavour, the matter
can be dealt with efficiently which of course means that the cost of
resolving it can be a tiny fraction of a legal proceeding.
Does the Mediator take a neutral position? Yes. A good mediator
does not sit in judgment and favors neither party. His or her objective
is to help the parties discover ways of securing an agreement.
Certainly, the mediator can, in private, discuss with each party, the
logic of the position each person is taking which may assist people to
see the dispute more objectively. The mediator will not push people into
reaching agreement, but will promote the concept of reaching a
harmonious outcome.
If negotiations are successful through mediation, what is the next
step? The mediator can prepare a settlement agreement document for
both parties to sign. Usually the mediator recommends that the parties
take legal advice on the wording of the document to ensure it represents
the detail of the agreement accurately.
What if no agreement is secured through the application of mediation?
Sometimes there are just some items upon which the parties can agree.
Even if that leaves other items of disagreement, the matters of
agreement should be documented because if the parties subsequently
choose to litigate (use the Courts), then at least the matter’s
complication has been reduced and the litigation then should be less
expensive.
Without agreement through mediation, there are commonly two options: 1.
To use the legal system and commence proceedings or 2. To leave the
matter unresolved and do nothing. Neither option is usually very
attractive and hence the great value of the parties trying to reach
agreement in a spirit of goodwill through the use of mediation.
What is the cost of mediation services? Because the parties share
the cost of mediation 50/50, the cost is vastly lower than litigation,.
Secondly, because the mediation process narrows the dispute, the amount
of time involved is far less and hence the cost is proportionately less.
The mediator charges an hourly fee and that fee varies depending upon
the experience and skill of the mediator and whether specialized
knowledge is required.
However, the bottom line is that mediation is the least expensive method
of resolving a dispute and hence is highly valued by most people who
have experienced its unique opportunities and qualities.
Why is mediation an intelligent approach to settling disputes?
For business, there is nothing more destructive than disputes. Left to
fester, a dispute can bring growing resentment, bad publicity and
frequent distractions. For personal disputes, mediation reveals
opportunities for renewing relationships or at the least the reduction
or elimination of harbored feelings of ill will.
And of course, the saving of money. Many people’s life’s savings can be
lost through expensive legal proceedings, far greater than had ever been
imagined at the outset. Mediation just makes sense.
Using mediation in the workplace - for example, to resolve
employee disputes. Never has there been a time when it has been so
important to stop bullying in the workplace. Owners, managers, and
supervisors are, or will be under a legal obligation to take appropriate
steps to protect people in the workplace from the torment of bullying.
It has become a criminal offence and people found guilty of bullying or
ignoring bullying may receive prison sentences.
Mediation can be an ideal remedy for employee disputes. Business
enterprises and organizations should have mediation facilities available
(via independent mediation firms) for use by its employees and explained
in employee handbooks, procedure manuals and codes of conduct.
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