Mediation & Dispute Resolution in Seattle

Not every dispute needs to end up in a courtroom. Mediation offers a faster, less expensive, and more collaborative path to resolution — one that gives all parties more control over the outcome and helps preserve important business and personal relationships.

The Stoll Group’s mediators bring decades of legal experience and a reputation for fairness, patience, and creative problem-solving. We help parties find common ground and craft durable agreements across a wide range of disputes.

Litigation is very costly, time consuming, and inflexible, while active discussion and negotiation provide clients with an opportunity to resolve disputes creatively according to a plan of their own making. Mediation is a confidential, respectful and voluntary process. We work with each party to understand the development of the dispute in light of current needs and circumstances, whether or not litigation is ongoing.

In mediation the parties have control over and direct the outcome of the process. They cannot be forced to sign off on terms to which they do not agree. In this way, mediation is very different from proceedings at trial or arbitration. While legal counsel is not required at mediation, when parties are represented by counsel, we encourage them to attend, as they can provide helpful guidance and advice to their clients throughout the mediation process.

It is the mediator’s role to facilitate constructive conversation between the parties, by offering insights and direction to help focus attention on the interests that are necessary for settlement. The length of time needed to resolve a matter can range from a few hours to multiple day-long sessions. A typical experience for family mediations or small business mediations ranges from two to eight hours.

Whether mediation results in settlement or not, the process and information disclosed is kept confidential and privileged pursuant to the mediation agreement, which must be signed by all participants prior to mediating. The mediator cannot be compelled to testify in later proceedings. To determine if your matter is suitable for mediation or other alternative resolution, we offer an introductory consultation at no cost to you.