Well I went and did it. 32 hours of intensive mediation training and I am now ready to offer mediation (in conjunction with Cape Mediation) for real estate disputes.
After 30+ years of serving as an expert witness, and sitting on the stand thinking "there has to be a better way" I am ready to explore it and see if it can work.
I was skeptical of the training before I started, maybe I was bias as a result of a comment that it was "boring, and touch feely." It wasn't boring, it was busy, no time to be bored, and I was surprised each day how fast the time passed.
As for "touchy feely" I didn't get that sense. I was in a group of 13 and most were in the social services profession, one lawyer, and me. This is not a touchy feely process for the mediator, it is an intense process whereby you assist the parities in reaching an agreement. And they will, most of the time. And their agreement will be something that they, as neighbors, can live with because they developed it!
There is a four step process that allows the partied to vent freely, and then develop solutions. Mediator do NOT offer solutions, judgments, or suggestions. We simply offer a path to resolution.
I am very excited about the potential for this new aspect of my business.
Dtp
:good:
I commend you on your accomplishment, Fog. I agree with your statement, "There has to be a better way."
I despise litigation. I despise depositions and I damn sure despise court proceedings. Even though our fees can appear sufficient; I don't think there is enough money in the world to get me to like professional testimony. There are other professionals that orchestrate the entire affair that have been trained to avoid your ability to say anything that might be incongruent with their "version" of the story. It's like "pulling teeth" just to get the facts of a case on the table for discussion.
As for mediation, I don't think I personally would care much for it either. I will be the first to agree that it is a viable alternative to boundary litigation. I just wouldn't have the stomach (patience) for it. More power to you. I hope you make a difference. Someone should.
Congratulations, Foggy!! I'm sure you'll find lots of opportunities to apply your newly discovered techniques. It's always good to have a new set of tools to work with. Did you actually find a class that focused on "real estate" dispute resolution? That would have provided an added advantage over the 40 hours of generic ADR that I took.
I'd highly recommend it for every surveyor. By the way, I said it was filled with touchy-feely, emotional mamby-pamby. ;o) I never said it would be boring! It's definitely "out of the box" thinking for a surveyor. Gives you a whole new outlook.
JBS