Athena Agreements tees up eight compelling reasons to use ADR for your business disputes.
When you come up short in business negotiations or are at an impasse, don’t settle for less. Mediate, don’t litigate. Why so? There is no guarantee you will win in litigation even with the best legal advice. Litigation is often expensive and time-consuming and the outcome is not in your control. Win-lose.
Contact Athena Agreements L.L.C. for guidance on negotiation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to keep you in charge of resolving your business matter to your satisfaction with other parties. Win-wins.
1. Our ADR Processes Work Because They Are Good
We negotiate and mediate two and multiparty business disputes of all levels of complexity. We also train clients to hone their negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
We design ADR processes that are appropriately scaled for the unique set of problems and disputes our clients need to solve. In mediation we call this “fitting the forum to the fuss.”
We request business owners or authorized decision-makers be present in mediations. Businesses know their businesses best. Legal counsel are welcome and can benefit parties in particular cases, although their presence in mediation is not generally mandatory. The parties decide who accompanies them in negotiations and mediations. They can consult the mediator if they are unsure.
In cases where the parties agree that a non-decisional subject matter expert (SME) could benefit their case we will arrange for a SME or Early-Neutral-Evaluator that meets the approval of the parties. The reality checks issued by the neutral experts are non-binding on the parties.
ADR processes provide the parties certainty. The parties control all substantive decisions and whether or not they will achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement that meets their business interests. Upon request, caucusing in private sessions is available to the parties in mediation with or without the presence of the mediator.
2. Our Expertise
Our woman-owned small business knows how to keep clients moving forward so they succeed and thrive in their business and partnerships. Win-wins.
As dedicated and certified neutral third-parties we have 25 years of experience getting parties to yeses in a variety of contexts including business, regulatory, court, environmental, energy and utility infrastructure, land use, environmental justice, and cultural heritage disputes. We maintain pride in designing ADR processes that work efficiently for our clients. We want our clients to get back to running their business without the weight of legal actions and tying up hard earned money in reserve for litigation. That money is better spent on growing their businesses.
We are skilled at assisting parties in understanding their true underlying business interests and negotiating based on those interests—not their positions. Athena Agreements approaches conflicts with a fresh mindset. We offer the parties a safe container to air their differences in mediation with more ease. When the quality of a good ADR service provider and process are combined, the relationships among disputants are transformed into productive and creative problem-solvers that achieve voluntary, durable agreements. From our experience, clients are repeat users of ADR once they have tried it. Win-wins.
We have guided parties to achieve mutually satisfactory agreements that met their business interests in hundreds of disputes. Win-wins, not win-lose. Remember you control your own destiny in ADR processes with Athena Agreements as your guide.
3. Timing of ADR Means Anytime
ADR processes are flexible. For example, clients can enter mediation upstream, midstream or downstream for a matter or project that concerns them. Without the insertion of an experienced neutral to guide the parties positively through discord on projects, clients run the risk of delays, failed projects and lengthy litigation at their own expense.
Clients are wise to insert ADR during one of three stages of the lifecycle of a project and dispute.
Upstream
At the earliest stage of the project or a dispute that is brewing. Timing ADR early matters even before the client offers a position on how the client proposes to proceed on a project. Gathering the facts and the perspectives of all interested parties upstream signals that the client is proactive and cares about everyone’s input in the decision-making process. That builds trust. Inserting the experienced neutral to facilitate the discussions upstream shows the client’s commitment to a well-designed process to resolve concerns as they occur. Early investment in ADR yields huge pay-offs. Win-wins.
Midstream
In the middle of the project when the dispute or multiple disputes are ongoing.
When unassisted negotiations fail or are at a standstill between business parties or their legal counsel in settlement discussions or a lawsuit is looming, consult Athena Agreements for ADR services. Mediation is often the next appropriate step for clients that are unable to resolve disputes on their own midstream. Good neutral mediators “have no dog in the fight.” They are impartial to the interests of any one party in the dispute. They guide all the parties to a mutual satisfactory agreement that resolves their concerns and meets their business interests.
For disputes that are confined to one or more points of contention or are circumscribed geographically, for example, on a large energy infrastructure project with environmental and land-use concerns, our company will address those individual pockets of concerns. The other portions of the project may proceed without delay. Win-wins.
Downstream
In the later stages of a project, during litigation or the enforcement of the contract.
Although parties are usually entrenched in attitudes that they are right and the other party is wrong, mediation has succeeded downstream in the lifecycle of the dispute. From experience, parties and legal counsel that felt pessimistic about entertaining ADR at this later stage were pleasantly surprised and relieved to achieve a winning agreement. Clients avoid the costs of discovery, court appeals, project uncertainty, and physical and mental stress when ADR is standard practice irrespective of the stage of the dispute.
Many courts including courts of appeal send the parties to mediation downstream to resolve their case. Other cases settle on the courthouse steps as an adjudicated decision may not rule in one party or the other party’s favor. No business owner is immune from being on the losing side of the case. Litigation is risky business. Parties are not in control of the adjudicated ruling and a judge’s decision. Win-lose.
In a successful mediated outcome downstream parties can withdraw their claim or lawsuit or request an extension of time to pursue mediation.
Athena Agreements recommends that clients pursue ADR early in a dispute. However, it’s never too late to use ADR because ADR works.
4. You Have Nothing to Lose
You cannot lose for trying ADR and voluntary mediation. Clients that achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement with other parties win all the time. Making a good faith effort to resolve your disputes cooperatively strengthens business relationships and builds business partnerships whether or not the dispute is resolved in mediation. In the off-chance that the dispute is not resolved in mediation, you do not lose your legal rights to pursue a different track to bring closure to your case. As previously mentioned, litigation may continue even while ADR is being pursued. Using ADR as a standard practice is a good insurance policy for your business.
5. Our Location
Athena Agreements is based in Alexandria, Virginia.
We serve clients in-person and virtually online according to the preference of clients.
6. Confidentiality
Athena Agreements abides by confidentiality standards and ethics rules. We want you to share your concerns with ease knowing that you have our confidence.
7. Get Started
What’s on your mind? What can be going better on how you handle conflicts that are brewing, litigation or the threat of lawsuits? What are your business needs? Looking for guidance on a difficult case that frustrates you? Have an internal concern in your shop? Teamwork issues? Need skills training, management or continuing legal education credit for yourself or employees? Make ADR work for you with Athena Agreements to meet your service needs.
8. How To Contact Us
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Use our online appointment scheduler with Athena Agreements company owner or leave a message on the company website https://www.athenaagreements.com/
