MEDIATION in CIVIL & COMMERCIAL CASES:

set up a mediation with me

contents of this section

• deciding whether I am the mediator for your case
• the date for the mediation
• putting your mediation date on hold
• my conflict of interest search
• confirmation of your mediation date
• length of the mediation session
• terms of mediation
• agreement to mediate
• premises for mediation
• statement of issues & other materials for mediation:
• what is to be served & by whom
• IMPORTANT: address for service on me
• form documents are to be served on me
• report & billing

•  deciding whether I am the mediator for your case:

This site is designed to provide as much information as possible to those considering my appointment as their mediator. Please review the section entitled "Why choose me?" and check out my home page and click to access my résumé, my fees and cancellation information, and my calendar. If there is any further information you need that I have not provided here, please feel free to e-mail me or phone at (416) 654-5124.

Please do not ask to book space on my calendar while any other mediator is still being considered for the case. This process is for those who have already decided on me.

•  the date for the mediation:

Once it has been decided that I am to be appointed as your mediator, please consult my calendar on this site for my available days, and consult with all other counsel and with clients to determine a date that works for everyone.

•  putting your mediation date on hold:

Negotiating dates can be difficult. You may feel that a date will probably work, but you have one final straggler to line up and you don't want to lose your date in the meantime. If you find yourself in such a position, you may send me an e-mail asking me to hold the date for you, subject to later confirmation. While the date for your case is on hold, I will not commit that date to anyone else. If someone contacts me to say they want that date, I will come back to you and give you a chance to firm up the date before responding to their request.

When all counsel and parties have agreed on a date, and my calendar indicates that I am available on that date ("open"), one counsel is to send me an e-mail on behalf of all participants (copying the message to the other people involved). Please make that e-mail very brief. All I need is this:

• the name and contact information of the sender;
• the complete name of the case and the Court file number;
• a rough estimate of the time we will need;
• the date you want to hold; and;
• complete names and contact information for all counsel and any unrepresented parties involved in the case.

When I receive your e-mail request I will put your date on 'hold' in my calendar, and confirm having done so by return e-mail to the sender.

•  my conflict of interest search:

I cannot make a firm commitment to accept your case until I have made a search as to any possible conflict of interest and obtained a clear result. This is why I need the complete name of the case as soon as you can get it to me. My 'hold' on your date will keep it secure while the conflict search is being made.

•  confirmation of your mediation date:

your date will become firm, and will be marked "N/A" (not available) on the online calendar.

•  length of the mediation session:

While mediations can often be successfully conducted in 4 or 5 hours, I find the standard appointment of 3 hours is a bit short. Therefore, even if the case is booked with me as a standard 3-hour appointment, I always set aside some extra time after those 3 hours in case the mediation is going well and we want to keep working for awhile. I ask counsel and the parties to do likewise.

This does not cause any prejudice to the parties, because I do not bill in blocks like "half-day" and "whole-day", which can result in the parties paying for professional time they don't get: except for 1 hour of preparation & administration, I bill only for the time we actually use in mediation.

Finally, if counsel believes the mediation session is likely to run for a full day into the evening, and possibly longer, please advise me so I can set aside extended time for the session. For myself, I do not mind longer sessions, but mediation can be grueling for the parties, and it may be wise to confer as to the possibility of dividing the session up, if that is possible, so that fatigue and family and business obligations do not become a stressing factor in the mediation.

•  terms of mediation:

I conduct mediations upon the Terms of Mediation that are set out on this site. You can refer to the text of the Terms in full by clicking the side tab "Terms of Mediation".

I encourage counsel to consider referring clients to this site and to these Terms, in particular, as a means of orienting them to the mediation process. Counsel may also find the Terms useful as a springboard from which to answer questions and give such advice as may be necessary in preparing clients for mediation.

•  agreement to mediate:

With respect to civil and commercial matters, I require a written Agreement to Mediate in any dispute in which no litigation has been commenced, and also in any action issued in a region where there is no Court mediation project.

In those regions in which there is a Court mediation project, once litigation is in progress, I consider that common law and the Rules of Civil Procedure are sufficient to govern the mediation process. I do not ordinarily request a formal Agreement to Mediate in those circumstances.

If counsel or any of the parties wishes to have a formal Agreement to Mediate anyway, I do not object. My preferred form of Agreement to Mediate is set out on this site. You can review that Agreement in full by clicking the side tab "Sample Mediation Agreement". You will note that my Terms of Mediation are incorporated in that form.

•  premises for mediation:

I do not have premises to provide for the mediation session, and I do not get involved in making arrangements for space. Counsel are to take all steps to arrange for appropriate space. In doing so, accessibility issues should be canvassed and accommodated as may be necessary.

Generally, I am happy to attend wherever counsel may agree that the mediation session is to be held. My only requirement is that all clients are comfortable in attending at the premises chosen. If any client is not comfortable - for example, if a client takes exception to attending for mediation in the offices of opposing counsel - that client must be accommodated by our holding the mediation elsewhere.

As for the number of rooms, I am content to work with one main meeting room and one break-out room. Counsel may wish to have more space, but more space represents more expense for the parties, so I leave the issue to counsel to decide.

I understand that some mediators require a separate room for their own use during the mediation. I do not require such a room.

•  statement of issues & other materials for mediation:

•  report & billing:

After the mediation session, as soon as I reasonably can, I will forward a copy of my account to all counsel.

My accounts state the date(s) of all mediation attendances, the number of hours spent in and out of the session(s), and the hourly rate and H.S.T. charged. If the account is to be divided between the parties, that allocation is calculated on the face of the account and the amount payable by each party is stated. If monies were paid to me by way of deposit(s), the manner in which those monies have been applied is also shown on the account.

My practice is paperless, so I no longer send reporting documentation to counsel by way of hard copies. Rather, a copy of my account and, in those regions that have a mediation project, a copy of my Mediator's Report to the Local Mediation Office, are sent to all counsel by e-mail, only. The Mediator's Report is filed with the court office by e-mail at the same time.| believe this is sufficient, but if any counsel wishes to have a hard copy of these materials, please let me know and I will be happy to send them.