When I first began to offer my services as a mediator, I considered it to be a personal failure on my part if a mediation ended for the day without the parties having reached a resolution. Even though I knew intellectually that mediation is a complicated process and that it’s not always possible to succeed in a single session, it took many months before I came to accept that some matters simply cannot be resolved in one day.

There are a variety of reasons the parties may require multiple sessions to reach a resolution:

• The sheer number of parties and/or complexity of the issues may dictate that one day is insufficient and that multiple sessions will be necessary;

• The parties may discover during the mediation that critical information has not yet been exchanged and/or that critical witnesses have not yet been deposed;

• The parties may realize that a more thorough analysis of liability and/or damages requires the voluntary exchange of expert reports and/ or the taking of expert depositions,

• The person with ultimate settlement authority may not be in attendance and may not be reachable;

• The parties may need time to absorb what transpired, consult with loved ones or otherwise reassess their options;

• The parties may simply become frustrated, impatient and/or exhausted.

As with every other aspect of the mediation process, it’s important to manage the parties’ expectations by making sure they understand well in advance that mediation can be arduous and time-consuming, and that one session may not be enough.

If it becomes apparent during mediation that resolution is not possible without scheduling a further session, it is equally important to identify all of the things that need to be accomplished before the second session, and to make sure they all get done.

If you approach mediation from the outset understanding and accepting that at first you might not succeed, you’ll have gone a long way toward laying the foundation for a successful second session if you later decide to try, try again.

As always, it would be my pleasure to assist you and your clients in the dispute resolution process. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of service.

Best regards,

Floyd J. Siegal
fjs@fjsmediation.com