The benefit of Virtual and online private mediation #CORONIL

Legal Services in India are traditionally provided to litigant parties in an “in-person” meeting, including private mediation.

Private mediation in Marital disputes helps couples to manage conflict by building co-operation and communication and thereby resolve any conflict between them. However, with changing times and out of necessities, the disputing couples have started to demand private mediation to be conducted and practiced through virtual mode by taking online tele/video meetings between parties and mediator(s). There are obvious benefits of such virtual/online private mediation for the disputing couples, those we would be discussing today.

All this has also become possible due to technological advancement in recent times. I have been using “skype meeting” app for the last several years for conducting my private mediation for some clients. Although, in court-annexed mediation that I am also doing in Delhi courts are still conducted in the traditional form of “in-person” meetings with parties, however, this has been disrupted due to #COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown.

During those periods of lockdown, the #High court in Delhi started using virtual mediation on the Cisco Webex meeting app with the consent of parties and those parties have given positive feedback acknowledging the benefits of such online mediation meetings.  I never had any doubt of the benefits of it and was confident of the same being accepted and admired by litigants in court-annexed mediation.

Virtual or online private mediation are low costs, easy and quick solution for resolution of disputes. This is an ideal option for those disputing couples, who are in sync with their options and more focused to resolve and want to move ahead for a normal life by finalizing their divorce.

The Benefits of virtual or online private mediation are:

1. Efficient and cost-effective:

Listening to parties and conducting private mediation in a remote setting instead of “in-person” traditional form of physical meetings saves from several hassels of infrastructure and manpower issues and also cost savings in the form of transportation and time for parties and their counsels.

This virtual or online setup of private mediation also makes the process more efficient, as it is more convenient to share any documentary information in real-time and such digital documents are easier to handle also.

2.Litigant Friendly:

Since the private mediation conducted online does not require the personal presence of parties before the mediator, such virtual meetings can be conducted by the disputing couples from their respective residence or office. The disputing couples are more comfortable in their home environment and such open and safe space helps them in opening up and make effective communication during such joint meetings and caucus (separate/single session).

3. More accessible:

At times the disputing couples have difficulty to get access to the courts in court-annexed mediation or the private mediator, either because the disputing couples are residing in different cities or even if living in the same city is not able to travel down to such mediation center/private mediator on each successive meetings, which could be up to 3 to 5. The number of meetings given above is merely indicative and could be lower or higher depending upon the facts of each case. 

In virtual or online private mediation, the distance is not a problem. The disputing couple can avail the mediation service from a certified private mediator even placed in a different city and thus, such a virtual setup provides easy access to private mediation.

3.     More customized and varied options;

In online/virtual private mediation, as there is no limitation of physical presence it is much more convenient to schedule a tele/video meeting on the Cisco Webex app, which gives convenience to parties for scheduling meetings.

The process of online private mediation can be easily be coustomised for the benefit of all the primary and secondary parties involved in the resolution of the dispute. It does not have a one size fit all approach.

There are certain pitfalls to virtual or online private mediation but the benefits of it outscore these smaller number of inconsequential challenges to online mediation. Even, some of these challenges do not relate to the parties but the mediator.  In nutshell, for the parties, the benefits of virtual mediation might still tempt them to use technology in dispute resolution, even after lockdown when restrictions of social distancing are going to be removed.

Pitfalls and ways to avoid them:

1. Challenge for the mediator to build trust and rapport with parties:

The biggest challenge for a mediator in private mediation is to establish trust and rapport building. It is the level of interactions with the parties through adequate frequency and manner that could help a mediator. The disputing couples would feel more comfortable sharing the information, especially, the privileged ones only if they build some trust and started to know the mediator.

2. Making parties comfortable with technology:

The parties often take time to adapt to communicating on video conferencing and its nuances, which are tools of the concerned meeting platform used for such online meetings. Like, I am now using the Cisco Webex meeting app for all mediation meetings with clients/litigant couples and their respective counsels.

It is necessary to make all concerned aware and guide them to use breakout rooms ( going to lobby, in Cisco Webex meeting app), which provide a separate secure space for having privileged information or making them use mute/unmute mic and close video. There is a personal chat feature, which one can use discretely to chat with your counsel or mediator, while still be speaking on a video conference to avoid any disclosure to the other party.

However, the real problem sometimes is of the bandwidth and lag due to unstable ethernet connection. I always advise my clients to make sure to be close to your router while using wi-fi.

Another tip is to call for the name, when expecting a person to speak and to address a person in a video conference, as non-verbal cues are not so effective in such a setting and without calling name it is difficult to know to whom you want to address.

3.     Non-availability of non-verbal cues:

Effective communication comprises of non-verbal communication and surprisingly non-verbal communication is more than double what we speak i.e. verbal communication. However, by having mediation meetings on tele/video conferences, a fairly large amount of non-verbal cues could not be picked up by the mediator.

4.     Concern about fairness in online private mediation:

The disputant couples always have a concern about the fairness of the entire private mediation process, especially when it is done through the online or virtual setup. Parties sometimes wonder, if the online private mediation process would be able maintain fairness or they would be coerced and forced to settle. However, this unwarranted concern is more because of limited awareness of the entire process of the mediation and how it works? Therefore, it is very important for the mediator to first inform the parties about the core principles of mediation, which would be taking care of the concern of fairness. To let you know, the definition of Mediation explains it all.

“Mediation is a structured and confidential process for conflict resolution in which a mutually acceptable neutral third party i.e. mediator, who has no authority to make binding decisions for disputants, intervenes to assist the parties in conflict or dispute to improve their relationships by building co-operation and communication, and use effective problem-solving through negotiation procedures to reach a voluntary and mutually acceptable understanding or agreement to their contested issues.”

The Author, Legal Mind Ajit Kumar, is a Relationship Coach, Family Mediator, and an expert in conflict resolution besides being a practicing Divorce/Family Lawyer. For seeking a  Marital or Divorce Mediation through Video Conferencing and one to one online/phone counseling on any relationship issues, you can call and make an appointment at 9810522134. If you are in a dysfunctional marriage and looking for a quick divorce, visit our website https://medvorce.com for a free registration by creating an account to find if you are qualified for a mutual and uncontested divorce.

If you have any questions feel free to comment below so that I can help you further. You can further suggest a new topic on any aspect of Couple Mediation and Relationship to make a new post. Also, please help me share this post on Facebook or click to tweet! I’d appreciate your help. Let’s Start a WhatsApp chat.