What is Litigation?
Litigation is the resolution of a dispute. Ultimately, litigation ends a dispute with an agreement or an order by the court.

What is Mediation?
Mediation is a tool for assisting people to reach agreements on anything from transactions to the settling of disputes. Mediation does not impose settlements. Parties in dispute must agree to the settlement on their own accord.
A mediator is someone that is trained to assist people in resolving their disputes with other parties, generally by establishing a common ground between the parties involved in the dispute. Mediators would typically encourage people to think about their underlying concerns beyond strictly financial concerns.

What is Arbitration?
Arbitration, like mediation, is an alternate dispute resolution system or process compared to the traditional courts. Unlike mediation, an arbitrator will impose a solution. Arbitration is typically used where parties have agreed in advance to use this process to solve their dispute. A classic example of arbitration is the process of collective agreement between a Union and Management or a commercial lease between Landlord and Tenant.

For mediation advice contact Ian Davis, Mediator at Race and Company or one of our other lawyers.

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