Mediation – A View Inside the Resolution Process

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every type of dispute involved mediation before a judge would hear the matter in court.  Mediation is when an unbiased third party, typically an attorney or retired judge, helps two parties come to a resolution outside of the courtroom.  As we emerge from COVID-19 and courts face monumental backlogs, mediation has become more popular and necessary than ever.

Bulman Dunie Partner, Meg Rosan, frequently serves as a mediator in family law and civil disputes.  To be qualified as a mediator, Meg attended a 40-hour course in September 2018.  Over those five long days of training, bookended by a morning and evening commute to Baltimore City, Meg learned the various approaches to mediation and how to help parties who initially seem far apart in their positions bridge the gaps and come to a consensus.

Meg found that not only did the mediation training help her learn how to be a mediator, but it also helped her better advocate for her own clients.  “I knew more about how to prepare my own clients for mediation,” said Meg.  “And who in the world could have imagined a global pandemic which would have closed courts and left mediation as one of the few resources to resolve disputes for a very lengthy period?”

Meg’s first mediation involved a contested custody matter for two District of Columbia parents with a custody case pending in D.C. Superior Court.  Notwithstanding the high conflict between the parents, Meg successfully resolved the matter and caught the mediation “bug”.

Meg took another 40-hour mediation course in 2019.  While her 2018 course focused on the fundamentals of mediation, Meg’s 2019 course focused specifically on mediation and negotiation of family law disputes.

Presently, in addition to serving as a privately-retained mediator for Maryland and District of Columbia clients, Meg facilitates family law cases for the Montgomery County, Maryland Circuit Court.  In that role, she assists both represented and unrepresented litigants in the negotiation of family law disputes, helping them to expedite an agreeable resolution to their dispute.  Meg stresses that “mediation permits litigants to maintain control over the outcome,” noting, “When litigants leave their dispute to a judge or jury to decide, they lose all control. One party always loses, and sometimes both are left disappointed with the outcome.  Mediation is the only way for both litigants to leave a dispute with an outcome both can accept.”

Meg notes that, even in a time of social distancing, remote mediation remains totally viable.  “I never imagined mediation could be conducted so seamlessly on a screen – with both parties in different locations and the mediator in a third – and that, despite the physical separation, significant work can be done.”

If you have a family law or other civil matter that you think would benefit from mediation, regardless of whether a lawsuit has been filed, please feel free to contact Meg Rosan at (301) 656-1177 or mrosan@bulmandunie.com to find out more about the mediation process.