REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc. (REBA-DR) offers a full range of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, including case evaluation, mediation and arbitration. Our most popular service is mediation.

The Massachusetts court system describes mediation as "a voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral person (mediator) assists disputing parties in identifying and discussing issues of concern, exploring various solutions and developing a settlement that is mutually acceptable to them."

There are a number of reasons why mediation is better than trying a case before a judge or a jury. These include time, cost, control and options.

Time

REBA-DR can schedule a mediation session within days (and sometimes within hours!) of a request. A court case can take years to prepare for trial. A successful mediation will spare the parties of many months of both uncertainty and anxiety.

Cost

The cost of a court case is, of course, in large part a function of the amount of legal time spent on a case. When the parties save time, they save money. Mediation sessions take far less time than the trial of a case in court; and, lawyers have to spend significantly more time preparing for a trial than they do for a mediation session. A successful mediation saves the parties substantial amounts of money in resolving their case.

Control

A successful mediation results in a negotiated agreement satisfactory to both parties. With mediation, a party can agree on what is important, yield on issues that are relatively unimportant and compromise on central issues in a way both sides find acceptable.

In addition, REBA-DR permits the parties to agree on a mediator from our panel of neutrals. Parties can never choose the judge who will try their case; most other mediation services do not permit the parties to select their mediator.

Options

A trained mediator will explore with the parties the strengths and weaknesses of their cases and present them with various choices for reaching an agreement. A mediator with both experience in the court process and expertise in the subject matter of the dispute can be very skillful in bringing the parties together and reaching a mutually acceptable solution. If the mediation does not result in an immediate agreement, the parties can use what they learned in the mediation session as a basis for future negotiations. The parties can also decide following mediation what other options are available to them, such as having the case arbitrated or going through with a trial in court.

REBA-DR provides a complete range of alternative dispute resolution services with a distinguished panel of neutrals with extensive experience in real estate law. Our panel includes two retired chief justices from the Massachusetts Land Court. When a case is approaching trial, MCA-DR offers a cost effective and high quality alternative.

Joe Boynton, Esquire
91 Prescott St.
Worcester, Massachusetts 01605-1702
Tel: (508) 754-4321
Fax: (508) 757-5005
E-Mail: JoeBoynton@att.net

(Editor's Note: Joe Boynton, Esq. is a former president of REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc.)