Simply because it makes possible the impossible: that the parties in conflict are heard, taken into account, recognized, and are able to build an agreement that fits them and that is worth to them and only to them. And an agreement that we build has many more expectations that it is going to be respected than an agreement imposed on us by others (judges, arbitrators).

Negotiation: it is a way of consensus where the protagonists are either the parties or their lawyers, but without a neutral third party that mediates in that negotiation and where juridical or legal arguments tend to prevail.

Judicial path: in the judicial process, which must always be available to guarantee the rights of the citizen to effective judicial protection, a third party listens to our lawyers – and sometimes to us as well – and depending on what they hear and the evidences that are presented, decides what is best for you and your problem. It seems more just or unjust, the Judge decides and we accept it. Sometimes the Judge himself/herself leads us to mediation, in an attempt to make the parties settle their case, but if it does not work he imposes his verdict on the sentence and tells us how things will be done in the future.

Arbitration: the parties choose an arbitrator to solve their dispute, and it will also be the arbitrator who decides what is best for them, given that the parties have not been able to agree to find a solution, neither their lawyers.

Conciliation: we submit our conflict to a third expert who will be the one who will propose the solution to our problem, without being able to impose it as a judge and / or an arbitrator.

Mediation: the conflict is submitted to a dialogue table between the parties, with a mediation expert in communication who will direct the process. It is also called ‘assisted negotiation’. The mediator asks questions and stimulates the dialogue, the listening, the participation, the collaboration, and does not propose solutions, but the parties are the ones who build the solutions for their agreement, voluntarily and can leave at any time the table if they decide to. Everything that is spoken in mediation is confidential and can not be used in court, especially the voice of the mediator, who can not testify in court about what he/she hears in mediation.

The agreements that are signed at the mediation table have the value of a private agreement. If we want, we can give them executive force by going to a Notary or to Court, depending on the issues in question and who is affected. But we will talk about all this in the mediation informative session with more detail.

Mediation is recommended especially in interpersonal conflicts where it is important to preserve a good coexistence and / or relationship between people in conflict in the future. For example, in couples who break up and have children in common, because they will continue interacting as parents in the future, or between stairway neighbors that see each other frequently, or between providers and customers whose relationship will continue because they move in the same market, or between brothers fighting for an inheritance, or grandparents who want to see their grandchildren without breaking the relationship with their children, and so many others.

Because what mediation cares the most about is not to break the relationship, that everyone who participates does not leave the process with the feeling of winner or loser but with an agreement that benefits both parties and in which everyone feels that they have won and that they are feeling better than what they entered. That the dialogue is not broken, that the parties do not feel the necessity to cross the street when they see each other and that they do not turn off the phone when the other calls.

Absolutely not. But it can be therapeutic, through the process of listening, participation and dialogue that it supposes. The mediators do not work at the mediation table as psychologists, nor as lawyers, nor as experts. And if we think that the parties would need to see one of these other professionals in parallel or before or after the mediation process, we will suggest it to the parties. Also, if it is considered convenient, we can bring to the mediation table those other professionals to advise us at a certain time and as long as we all agree.

Mediation always focuses on the FUTURE, and only talks about the past to if it can help us build a future. We can not change the past, but we can change our look towards it.

Mediation is not an exact science and each problem involves a custom-made suit to address your solution. However, the Mediation Law talks about between 2 and 6 sessions of mediation, and a usual period of up to 60 working days. In the first informative sessions the mediator makes a work plan together with the client to guide him/her on how many sessions will be necessary, approximately, and the fees per session.

At the end of each session each party pays the agreed amount, depending on the rates established in the initial budget accepted by the client. If changes are foreseen in the initial budget depending on the complexity of the matter, the mediator will notify those changes to the clients so that they accept them before they are applicable.

The firm can carry out its work in Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Italian if necessary. If we need a simultaneous translator for any of the parties we can find it among the companies in the sector.