Blog

28Jul
2020

Online Mediation and Collaboration: How We Create the Perfect Digital Environment for Dispute Resolution

In addition to the many benefits of mediation and collaboration, many potential clients are discovering that with access to the courts limited, these may be the quickest ways to resolve disputes. Like so many professionals, mediators and collaborative attorneys have spent the last several months learning how best to adapt the work they do to the digital realm. We have been really excited about some of the innovative ways we’ve learned to use technology to take mediation and collaboration to the next level. In today’s blog post, we want to share some of the ways we’ve discovered that Zoom mediation and collaborative sessions can recreate face-to-face meetings and in some ways even surpass it.

Breakout Rooms

Zoom enables “breakout rooms” which allow participants from a conference call to easily disperse into smaller groups outside of the main conversation. For example, you could take a moment to discuss something one on one with your attorney, then return to the other people on the call. It’s the equivalent of stepping into another room down the hall in our office, but translated pretty seamlessly into the virtual space. 

Screen Sharing

Screen sharing allows us to share what we’re seeing with other participants in a Zoom call. With the right programs, it’s like having a dry erase board that we can all see. This can help us keep conversations on track and remember the points that have been made. We can also review documents like agreements together in real time.

Flexibility of Scheduling

We’ve found that scheduling mediation sessions is much easier when we do it virtually. Participants do not have to worry about commute times because they can join the call from anywhere, as long as they are connected to the internet. This ability also often makes participants more comfortable as they can experience the mediation from the comfort of their own homes.

A tip from our team: Sometimes breaking mediation into several sessions rather than going at it all day is a good idea. This is an emotional process and we don’t want you to get burned out. The flexibility of scheduling provided by virtual mediation makes this a lot easier.

Are you curious about mediation?

If you’re facing a dispute, such as a divorce, mediation or collaboration might be the right path for reaching a resolution. If you’re interested in learning more about how our team is mediating in the age of coronavirus, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. You can reach Irwin Kuhn at (615) 321-5659. We can’t wait to hear from you to discuss your needs and our practice!