Prepare Predictables. Leave Finished. Lose the Worry.

The odds of reaching agreement may not be fully bankable, but certain terms that you will deem necessary are.  

Come to mediation with a document in hand, and/or on a memory stick or thumb drive, that can either serve as a Settlement Agreement, itself, or provide terms which can easily be attached or incorporated into something drafted at the table.  

Leave blank lines, or even a blank page, to insert particulars.  Include terms that are yet to be determined as applicable, such as Older Worker Benefit Protection Act language.  It’s easy enough to strike them.  Have parties initial next to handwritten insertions or modifications.

It doesn’t have to be pretty;  just legible.  

It’s not a bad idea to bring a couple of copies so that everyone can read along at the same time.  In the end, you’ll have originals for each party to sign and keep, too. 

This simple preparation is guaranteed to offer the chance of saving yourself the worry (or actuality) of things unraveling between the end of a session and the exchange of a formal agreement, and eliminate the delay of finality.

About Maria Hanna Joseph

Maria Hanna Joseph, principal of Joseph Mediation, is an Attorney-Mediator who is highly regarded for her experience and ability to resolve employment, workplace and organizational disputes. She has served more than 2,000 matters over her 20 years as a mediator and her 29 year employment law career. With care, expedience and economy, Maria helps attorneys and parties achieve settlement in nearly every mediation. Moreover, her pragmatism and perseverance bring about purposeful settlements; products of Maria's insight and creativity, gained by her depth of experience and training. These qualities, along with her demeanor and the trust she engenders, have earned Maria a reputation for being able to manage extremely challenging circumstances and settle a wide variety of cases. Maria is available to provide services in-person or virtually (utilizing teleconference and desk-top videoconference resources) throughout Massachusetts, New England and the U.S.
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