Will the Mediation Settlement be fair?

Strange though it may sound, fairness is seldom an aim in mediation. The process itself must be fair, and it is my role to ensure this, but fairness in the Settlement Agreement itself is different. First, with plenty of other issues to resolve in a mediation, the factors defining fairness are an unwelcome complication.

Second, most people are content to settle on terms that they can tolerate, and if they are delighted by the terms reached this is a bonus. Those outcomes do not flow from seeking fairness, but from creativity and targeting the other side’s interests. In the end well advised participants in mediation are more interested in being better off than in what “fair” might mean.