William "Bud" Reynolds has met the requirements to be a Certified Mediator in both civil matters and family law matters. Mr. Reynolds received his mediation training and certification from the Saint Louis University School of Law ("SLU"). The mediation model that Mr. Reynolds practices and was trained in at SLU, was a model developed by Harvard Law School through an interdisciplinary approach a few decades ago. Mr. Reynold’s approach to mediation is that he operates in the arena of conflict resolution. His job as a neutral mediator is to assist the participants in reaching their own agreement. This is done by creating a process (a/k/a environment) where each participant is fully heard, where each participant can express their interests and ideas about the conflict, and where the participants have a voice in resolving the conflict. Through this process Mr. Reynolds hopes to assist the participants in not only reaching a "settlement" of the dispute, but also reach a full "resolution" to the conflict because there is an important distinction. A "settlement" is defined as an official agreement intended to resolve a dispute, whereas, a "resolution" can be defined as the action of solving all disputes.
The mediation model employed by Mr. Reynolds is premised upon: 1) the participant’s right to self-determination of the outcome; 2) the informed consent of the parties; and, 3) the neutrality of the mediator.
To Mr. Reynolds this means:
- "Self-determination" means that since the conflict is between the participants, they are the ones best situated to define what a successful resolution would be for them -- not the judge and not the lawyers.
- "Informed consent" means that the participants must have a full understanding of the personal interests, business interests and legal interests at play in their conflict. There are three areas of interests that must be addressed if the participants hope to reach a resolution to their conflict. If two areas are addressed then commonly a "settlement" will be reached, but if you can address all three areas not only is a "settlement" reached but also the parties reach a "resolution" to all disputes.
- Finally, the mediator must remain neutral. The mediator must assist the participants in creating a process (a/k/a environment) where the participants can freely express their personal interests, business interests and legal interests which is what creates the opportunity for both a "settlement" and "resolution" of the dispute.
If you want an opportunity to have a voice in the resolution of your conflict, thencontact Mr. Reynolds to discuss scheduling a mediation consultation.