The standard rate for a private mediation is $240 per hour. Rates for cases with multiple parties with adverse interests, or cases booked through certain court-referred programs, may vary.

Christopher is available to mediate at the location of your choosing or at the Center for Legal Solutions near the Courthouse in Marietta.

Since opening my mediation practice in 2007, I have helped more than 400 parties reach successful resolutions to their disputes. While the issues involved have ranged from construction cases to wrongful death and personal injury claims to domestic matters, there has been one constant among the cases that settled:

Successful mediation is not as simple as having completed discovery, or having brought the key documents or evidence to the negotiation. In my experience, the mediation process is most successful when both parties have followed some (or all) of these simple guidelines:

1. Prepare your case. Draft an opening statement. Organize exhibits. Provide a confidential mediation statement to the mediator. This will demonstrate to the other side that you mean business and help your clients see the value in your services.

2. Prepare your client. Discuss candidly your strengths and weaknesses. Talk through the range of possible settlement offers the other side may propose. Develop creative options - especially ones that may be mutually beneficial to all involved.

3. Bring the right person. If your client is a business, ensure that the representative sent to mediate has full authority to settle. It is extremely frustrating for a party to learn six hours into a mediation that the opposing party's representative has run out of authority or that what was just agreed upon will have to be approved by someone else.

4. Listen. An important aspect of mediation is active listening – paying close attention to the information the other party is relaying and evaluating the subtle (or not so subtle) cues they are sending rather than focusing solely on your position or formulating a response.

5. Rely on the mediator. I'm there to help you, whether that means reframing the issues to the other side in a neutral manner or providing a reality check on the strengths and weaknesses of your own case with your client. Rely on my experience to bring the issues into sharp focus, reduce tensions, cut through emotion and help the parties arrive at an agreeable resolution.

If you come prepared to listen to the other side, to discuss a wide range of creative settlement options and to effectively negotiate based on your client's interests, not just their legal positions, you and your client can walk away feeling that you have achieved a significant victory.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a mediation or arbitration, please call me at (404) 551-3643 or e-mail me at info@ckamediation.com.