Private rooms are a click
Caucus is where mediations get settled. Over video the mediator moves between rooms instantly instead of walking parties down a corridor and back.
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- How it works
The process
What actually happens, start to finish
Nobody should book a mediation without knowing exactly what they are walking into. Here is the whole process, including the parts other sites leave out.
The free call
Fifteen minutes with a mediator, at no charge. You describe the disagreement, who is involved, and whether anything has been filed. We are listening for three things: is this mediatable, is it safe to mediate, and which track fits. You are not asked to commit to anything and you are not sold to.
The invitation
If you want to proceed, we contact the other party. The invitation comes from a neutral and explains the process, the cost, and what mediation is not. We do not argue your position and we do not disclose what you told us on the call.
If they decline, that is the end of it and you have paid nothing.
The agreement to mediate
Everyone signs one document before anything is scheduled. It covers confidentiality and its limits, the mediator’s neutrality, the fee and how it is being split, and the fact that either side can walk out at any point. Read it properly — it is short and it matters.
Preparation
You send anything you want the mediator to have read: the contract, the invoice, the parenting schedule, the numbers. Up to an hour of review is included on the Direct Track. There is no discovery, no depositions, and nothing you send is shared with the other side unless you say it can be.
The session
Everyone joins the same video room. The mediator sets the ground rules, each side describes the situation without interruption, and then the mediator starts moving between private rooms — carrying offers, testing positions, and finding out what each side actually needs as opposed to what they opened with.
This is where most of the work happens, and it is the reason mediation succeeds in matters where direct negotiation has failed.
The memorandum
If you reach terms, the mediator writes them up in plain language the same day — who does what, by when, for how much. That memorandum records the agreement; it is not drafted as a binding contract.
Take it to your own attorney. They turn it into a settlement agreement or, if a case is already filed, into a consent judgment for the court to enter. We will tell you which one your situation needs.
What a mediator does
A mediator runs the conversation. They set the rules, keep the temperature down, move between the parties, and make sure each side actually hears the other’s position rather than the version they have been arguing against in their head.
They also do something less obvious: they separate the positions people have taken from the interests underneath them. Two parties fighting over a number are often not really fighting over the number.
What a mediator does not do
They do not decide anything. They do not tell you who is right. They do not predict what a judge would do, and they do not give legal advice to either side — including when you ask them to, which people often do around hour three.
They do not represent you. A mediator who starts advising one party has stopped being a mediator, and the whole process stops being worth anything.
This is the part worth repeating
Mediation is not legal representation. A mediator is a neutral third party who helps you and the other side try to reach your own agreement — the mediator does not represent either of you, does not give legal advice, and does not decide anything. You are encouraged to have your own attorney review anything before
you sign it, and we will say so again at the end of the session.
The technology
Why video is better here, not just cheaper
Distance can be the point
Parties who cannot sit in the same room can still mediate. For some matters that is the difference between a session happening and not happening.
Evenings become possible
No building to book and no commute means slots exist outside business hours — which is when most people can actually attend.
You will need a device with a camera and a reasonably stable connection. We send a test link before the session so nobody spends the first ten minutes fixing audio.
Still have a question about the process?
Ask it here, or on the free call. There are no wrong questions about this — most people have never done it before.
Ready when you are.
Pick a mediator and a time. The agreement to mediate comes after, and nothing is charged until both sides have signed it.