Companies use mediation to reduce costs, save time

Before Lawrence Muscarella agrees to take a case to court, he first tries mediation.

As general counsel for Husqvarna in Augusta, he finds that it's cheaper and less time consuming.

"We have resolved a lot more of our cases (with mediation) than ever before. It allows you to control your own destiny," Mr. Muscarella said.

With the responsibility of protecting Husqvarna, he manages cases nationwide on issues ranging from employer-employee relationships, commercial matters, personal injury, product liability, trade and real estate. The outdoor power products company started mediation on a regular basis seven years ago, he said.

As caseloads clog court systems, mediation becomes a "great way to alleviate some of the pressure on dockets," said Shinji Morokuma, the director of the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

And it's a growing trend among companies, said Dr. Timothy Hedeen, an associate professor of conflict management at Kennesaw State University.

It is hard to track the trend because there's no statistical review of cases that don't go to trial. But Dr. Hedeen said there has been an increase in companies either hiring people in risk management or as in-house counsel, or training existing staff to work with mediators.

The process involves a neutral party, usually an attorney, who guides settlement discussions between people or businesses in a dispute.

"It can save a great deal in legal costs. Busy executives and business people want to focus their energies on their business and not focus on legal disputes," said Ray Chadwick, an attorney with Kilpatrick Stockton LLP in Augusta, who encourages his own clients to use mediation.

Mr. Chadwick said mediation is useful in the business world because it allows the parties to decide their own fate, rather than leaving it in the hands of a jury. And it resolves it faster, which reduces legal costs for the company.

In Georgia, 70 percent of cases eventually reach settlement through alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, Mr. Morokuma said. He estimates that 38,000 cases in 2008 were referred to alternative resolution, 20,000 of which were settled using this method. If the cases went to trial, it would take 17 judges working full-time to resolve them, he said.

In South Carolina, 90 percent of civil cases go to mediation, Mr. Chadwick said.

Nationally, the technique began to grow in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and many judges nationwide have become proponents, Mr. Chadwick said.

"There are courts in Georgia and South Carolina where it is mandatory, but it's not mandatory in the Augusta area. But a number of judges are encouraging the parties to mediate," Mr. Chadwick explained.

Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.