The Expert Podcast

So you've seen our series on mediation and here's reason number 42 Why mediation might be a good option if you're in any kind of dispute or conflict with another person or a company. Whether it's a court case full-blown litigation just an argument dispute maybe a contract conflict. Mediation has many advantages And this particular vantage we're talking about has to do with confidentiality confidentiality So if you have a conflict that goes to court…

Even before you enter the courtroom, you're going to have to exchange information. With the other party through things like discovery. Through depositions. Through product description, production of evidence, even witness interviews. All of those pieces of evidence.

Collected by you or the other side are subject to publication meaning that they're part of the public record. So if you turn over things about your, product. information of your company or your customer information or you give a deposition that deposition is part of the public record for the court Now remember we're not attorneys we're not giving you legal advice. But. most things that go into the court record are public record court record by definition is public.

However there's an exception. If you do mediation. Anything discussed in the confines of that mediation event is confidential So you can reveal things You can talk about things you can use information as leverage to help your cause. You can. reveal maybe what you're willing to accept.

You can also discuss things about your case. With your mediator or even with the other party. That can't be used in a publication. So if you have let's say sensitive things about, you know your family matters or your business matters. A mediator is not allowed to reveal those And the other side is not either.

Now here's the thing. There's a couple exceptions to that If you discuss anything that's a threat to somebody's physical wellbeing you threaten to hurt somebody or you're discussing an ongoing or future crime. Those are exceptions but obviously that's not a normal thing. The information used for settlement negotiations. That's all subject to confidentiality and many…

clients like to use mediation as an alternative to the court process because they don't want their dirty laundry aired out in public. Right. It might not be right away but maybe two three or five years from now somebody can pull up this court case and say wait a minute, five years ago this person…revealed this about themselves Or they. Disclose this document or they put this on record. That this is how they feel about something where mediation none of that.

Happens None of it goes out into the open ecosystem. So if you're at all concerned about your privacy today or tomorrow, Mediation may be a way to evade that disclosure. In a courtroom setting now. There's other advance. First of all, you don't have to abide by whatever the mediation comes up with It's totally voluntary If you don't like the outcome or what's suggested you can walk away.

But the main thing is it's all confidential Even if you offer something. And it's not accepted. That offer can't even be used against you later It can't be said well you offered this before so I want to take it now. You don't have to abide by your offer after the mediation is over with, and that offer can't be used as leverage against you in court to make you I accept a settlement or negotiation at a later date maybe something changed Maybe you don't want to accept that set. anymore.

The most important thing is you'd be surprised. What's going to come out in court.

things you have to testify to because…in a deposition you can't object to questions. Right. If you're in court you see it on TV all the time. The attorney after a question and the attorney says I object, I don't have to answer that privacy plead the fifth whatever it is. But here's the thing in a deposition.

You can't object to a question. You have to answer the question in the deposition. Now it may not be able to be used in court, but that transcript of that deposition still has that answer. And you've seen many times. recordings videos of depositions of famous people right Former presidents and high profile business people.

Make it into YouTube. So think about that before you go into a deposition or start revealing evidence. Do you want this out in public, this information about you or your business or your family or whatever it is. And so you might be able to use a mediation. Even if it's not court required.

To enable you to get a result in your conflict without having to reveal. Very sensitive things about your history your person or your company.