The Mediation Process at BDRS: Pre-Mediation Statements

Pre-mediation statements

Before the mediation, the parties may submit optional, written
pre-mediation statements to the mediator. Such statements
might contain, for example, a summary of a party’s claim or
defense, what a party hopes to accomplish at mediation, or
particular concerns or perceived impediments to resolution.
Preparing such statements may be a useful tool for parties and
their counsel in thinking through the issues and preparing for a
productive session.

The purpose of such pre-mediation statements is not to
“persuade” the mediator—remember that the parties, not the
mediator, will decide how the dispute is to be resolved—but to
familiarize the mediator with the general context of the
dispute.

While BDRS encourages the parties to exchange information, it
is up to the parties to decide whether to submit their respective
statements just to the mediator, or also to exchange
statements among themselves. In order to avoid confusion,
however, the mediator will assume that anything in the
statements may be shared with the other parties at the
mediation, unless specific portions of a statement are
expressly stated as confidential.