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Duties of a Supreme Court Certified Mediator

A supreme court certified mediator works as an advocate between two parties during mediation. They assist in having issues resolved while also preparing agreements involving settlements, which will be court reviewed as well as creating orders out of agreements. Plus, accurate data needs to be collected by the mediator.

The mediator also needs to ensure that the decisions made are non binding in nature. However, it is important to understand that a mediator may not be able to resolve every case they take on in a short amount of time. The reason why is because an agreement that is mutual needs to be achieved.

During the mediation process, the mediator allows the parties to decide on what their goal will be during the mediation. It is important to understand that a mediator does not have any legal power, such as a judge, in order to make decisions pertaining to a legal dispute.

Mediator Methods Commonly Used

Although each mediator strives to assist in conflict resolution, there are many different methods a mediator can employ to achieve results. Each method is different and they center around the specific needs of the case. The mediator methods commonly used include evaluative mediation, transformative mediation, and facilitative mediation.

Offering Evaluative Mediation

Using the evaluative method allows the mediator to come to a quick resolution to the current issue. They will also provide the ability for the parties to come to an agreement in an efficient manner. The mediator will likely draw upon their own experience in order to come up with options and have recommendations made. An evaluative method will be used when time is of the essence and the issue may become a court case, or when both of the parties are willing to have a neutral mediator make recommendations.

Offering Transformative Mediation

Using the transformative method allows the mediator to create space between both parties so that they can each hear what the other party is saying and understand why they are saying it. Additional space is also created in order for both parties to express their feelings and allow healing to take place emotionally as the solution is being drawn up. This method will come in handy when a conflict has deep roots and is on a personal level such as a relationship or family members and one party is in need of being recognized and empowered.

Offering Facilitative Mediation

The third method that a supreme court certified mediator can offer is known as facilitative mediation and is the most widely used out of the three. When the mediator uses this approach, they are able to adapt to the needs of both parties. With this mediation, the mediator is able to validate points that a party wants to make, ask questions, and normalize the outlook.

Conclusion

Although a mediator can mediate many different cases, they do have their limitations, such as lawsuits pertaining to injury, tort, family law, wrongful termination claims, and breach of contract.