Five Steps to Resolving Commercial Contract Disputes in San Bernardino CA

Commercial contract disputes in San Bernardino California can arise in any industry and involve a variety of parties, including contractors, vendors, competitors, customers and business partners.  While these disputes have the potential to cause significant disruption in your business, mediation is a process that can often help resolve commercial contract disputes in San Bernardino California.  The process of mediation is discussed below.

Request for Mediation 

Mediation is a voluntary process.  As such, the process commences when one of the parties or their respective legal counsel approaches the other about the possibility.  While some parties may be hesitant to broach the subject, doing so shows that your client is interested in resolving the claim in a cooperative manner.

Selection of Mediator 

After the parties agree to mediation, they get to select the mediator of their choosing.  They may have already used the services of a mediator, or they may decide together on a new mediator based on his or her particular skill set.

Mediator Communications

The mediator will begin his or her role in the case by communicating with the parties before the actual mediation session.  He or she may help the parties agree on a preliminary exchange of documents and request a brief from each party to provide a background on the case.  He or she also schedules a date for mediation.

Mediation Session

At the actual mediation session, the mediator begins the process by explaining the ground rules and his or her role as a facilitator of communication.  During mediation, the mediator will help identify the underlying issues between the parties and figure out ways that the parties can work together to resolve these issues.  The parties may brainstorm ideas and evaluate the proposed options to resolve the claim.

Agreement

In most mediation cases, the parties can usually resolve their legal disputes with one or more mediation sessions.  The parties’ sign the agreement that they helped create through the process of mediation.