Telephonic Mediation. Telephonic mediation is a cost-effective and time-saving dispute resolution option for parties who are interested in personally controlling the outcome of their case from the comfort of their own offices, rather than rolling the dice on a resolution by judge or jury verdict that will involve greater legal fees and may take years to reach.

Mediating by phone is particularly favorable for those parties and their counsel who are extremely busy, hard to schedule, and geographically distant from each other, as well as parties and their lawyers who may not do well in one room together because of volatile emotional situations or personality mixes.

Telephonic mediation can save the cost of transportation fares, tolls and parking, as well as the opportunity cost associated with time lost due to travel. Furthermore, mediation by phone almost always starts at the exact time of scheduling because there are never travel delays.

Because of these features, parties and their counsel often prefer to mediate by phone even when they are in one urban center, such as Boston, because of the time and cost it can take to travel even short distances.

As Mr. Kauders has never relied on body language and visual cues due to his limited eyesight, he is uniquely suited to guide parties toward successful resolution of their claims solely using verbal cues. Mr. Kauders has successfully mediated several thousand cases over the past 26 years, including many disputes in the FINRA telephonic mediation program (for the resolution of securities industry disputes involving stock and bond purchasers, brokers, mutual funds, and other financial service parties).

Telephonic mediation is a non-binding process in which the parties and their attorneys attempt to resolve their dispute over the phone with the assistance of a neutral mediator.

After initial preparation and review of relevant documents, the mediator calls all participants to convene the first joint telephonic session during which positions are stated. The mediator then commences confidential sessions with one party while the other is put on hold. This allows the mediator to privately clarify the negotiating position of each party and relay the desired information. The process also allows for the mediator to be put on hold while client and counsel strategize privately.

After a series of sessions that often alternate between confidential and open discussions, the parties will reach a settlement in the vast majority of cases handled by Mr. Kauders. Such cases include business, employment, personal injury, securities and other matters. Once a settlement is reached, the mediator convenes a final joint session during which he announces the terms of the settlement to all parties.

Please call Chris Kauders at Pre-Trial Solutions, (617) 542-2005, to discuss scheduling the session for your case or to design your telephonic mediation program.