Mediation for lawyers

Mediation — voluntary talks with a neutral mediator. The Mediation Act (2021) gives legal status: a court may refer, parties may initiate before/during a dispute.

Effective: family, labor, commercial disputes with ongoing relationships, inheritance conflicts. Useless: precedent needed, party denies facts, public-order issue.

Mediation agreement — mandatory (confidentiality, rules). Outcome protocol — the parties' deal, may be notarized. On failure — nothing from mediation goes to court as evidence.

The lawyer in mediation — a party's consultant, not a representative: assesses BATNA, prepares positions, formalizes results. Lawyer presence at sessions — by parties' consent.

A mediation agreement is a contract: enforced voluntarily or via court. Notarized — has the force of a notary's writ for debts. Embodied in a court settlement — strongest.

Mediator — hourly (UAH 1500–5000/hr) or per case, split between parties. Court mediation — free in pilot courts. Much cheaper than full litigation.