Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution techniques, are gaining popularity throughout the legal system, as a way to come to a compromise without the time and expense that litigation can often entail. Mediation is often used in cases where the parties wish to try to settle their issues out of court--either as an adjunct to legal proceedings, or in lieu of formal litigation.

The Curtis Legal Group has highly skilled and trained mediators to assist you in developing cost-effective resolutions to many legal problems, including trained mediators who have completed training from the highly respected Pepperdine University School of Law program.

We have experience in mediating many types of cases, including:

• Employment and Labor Disputes
• General Business Disputes
• Discovery Issues
• Personal Injury Cases

The meditation process has several characteristics that make it popular and effective in these modern economic and social times:

1. In a mediation, the parties sit down in a room with a mediator and try to work out their differences. The parties determine the rules of the mediation.

2. Most litigation winds up in settlement anyway. Meditation can avoid the cost of litigation and often achieve the same results without the time, money, stress, and distraction of full-scale litigation.

3. The process is confidential and takes place in private, as opposed to litigation, which is usually public. Once there is an agreement through the mediation process, a contract is created between the parties.

4. The process is non-binding unless and until there is a written agreement. Litigation can always ensue if the parties can't agree. At the same time, mediation can help narrow issues for litigation--the parties may be able to agree on some things, even if they don't agree on everything.

5. The parties are not limited by legal procedure. Although any agreement has to abide by the law, the complex rules of procedure that are required in a courtroom do not apply to a mediation. The parties can get right to the point with each other.

If you are involved in any dispute which has legal implications, it is always best to explore a non-litigation path before beginning a lawsuit. If you are already in a lawsuit, mediation can help to resolve some, or even all, of the issues involved.