FLORIDA

SETTLEMENT RATES

By Matthew Brickman

WHAT’S THE CHANCE YOU WON’T LITIGATE IN COURT?

Florida Mediator Matthew Brickman Releases Divorce Mediation Settlement

Rates And Success Rates (VIDEO)

I have occasionally been asked how many mediations do I typically conduct per

month and what is my settlement rate. Answering the first part of this question is

easy. I keep track of every single mediation that I have conducted and have every

single agreement I have ever created so that in the future if an attorney or party

needs a copy, I have it available for them at no charge.

Where I have difficulty is answering the second part of this question…

What is my settlement rate? What does it matter?

Who cares and if so why do you care? I am more concerned about my success rate

than my settlement rate.

What’s the difference? In order to answer this you need to know one thing and

only one thing. A mediator’s first and only responsibility is to empower the parties

to exercise self- determination.

What does this mean? It means that my first priority is to empower the parties to

make their own decisions. They may make good decisions and they may make

poor decisions, but my job is to give them a voice and create a platform so that

they can be the decision maker in their case.

Many parties choose to settle their case in mediation and others choose to have a

judge decide their issues. Many times the parties do want to settle, but the

attorneys don’t encourage them to settle

because they give them a glimmer of a possible

hope that they might get a better deal in court,

so they decide to roll the dice and take their

chances not to mention that if they do settle in

mediation, then the attorneys no longer get

paid as the case is over.

There may be occasional times where a judge is absolutely necessary to interpret

the law or an existing agreement or possibly order a party to comply with the law

or an existing agreement, but for the most part the parties have the ability to

settle the case amongst themselves.

Success Rates:

As a mediator, I am more concerned with my success rate, which is 100%.

I base my success not on how many agreements I can get signed in mediation, but

rather on the fact that every single person that I have ever mediated for was

empowered, they exercised self-determination and they chose their own fate.

Many choose to settle their own issues in mediation and signed an agreement and

others knew the risks going forward and chose to still move forward and have a

judge decide their fate in trial.

Either way, 100% of the time I empowered the parties to exercise self-

determination.

So what about the settlement rate? I believe that the higher the settlement rate,

the higher the possibility of more coercion, manipulation, bully tactics and

intimidation on the part of the mediator and less mediating and empowerment of

the parties. Now with that said, don’t get me wrong. I would love every single

couple in mediation to settle and

sign their own agreement so that

they don’t have to go to trial and

spend thousands of dollars and

lose control of the decision making

process when comes to their

families and possessions. Some

people believe that the more

money you pay for a mediator the

better they are.

I disagree with this. I’d rather go to a mediator that has conducted more

mediations, maybe for a reasonable price, and mediation is their full time

profession, than go to a mediator that picks and chooses which cases to mediate

only to keep their settlement percentage up. Mediators like this charge hundreds

of dollars an hour and might only mediate a few cases per month because

charging those kinds of prices, they don’t have to work much.

In the end, it’s up to the parties to decide on who they want to conduct their

mediation and it is up to the parties to decide whether they want to settle their

case in mediation and retain full control of the outcome or go to trial and

surrender all decision making authority to the family court system.

For more information about mediation, visit http://www.iChatMediation.com or

call me at 877-822-1479 or locally at 561-262-9121.

About Matthew Brickman:

Matthew Brickman has mediated hundreds of small claims, civil, and family cases involving disputes between couples with children, building contractors, small business mergers, bedding stores, auto accidents through State Farm Insurance, landscaping companies, neighbor disputes construction companies and even home owners associations. His experience also extends into the landlord/tenant segment, insurance companies, nursing homes, municipalities and even fire departments.

Visit his website for more information on Family Mediation in Florida and check his mediation calendar for availability to schedule your next mediation session.

iChatMediation - Family Mediation Services 1200 Town Center Dr #424 Jupiter, FL 33458 (877) 822-1479

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3 Reasons You Should Choose Online Virtual Mediation

Child Custody Mediation: Florida Child Custody Laws

Same Sex Marriage and Divorce

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