Online Mediation Services | Resolve Disputes Virtually with Experienced Mediators
Professional Online Mediation — Wherever You Are
You have a dispute that needs to be resolved. You shouldn’t have to travel across the state, take time away from work, or spend thousands of dollars preparing for a courtroom battle just to find a reasonable solution.
At the Georgia Center for Arbitration & Mediation (GCAAM), we make dispute resolution more accessible through professional online mediation services. Our experienced mediators help individuals, businesses, and attorneys work toward practical solutions through convenient virtual mediation sessions. Whether you are involved in a business disagreement, construction dispute, divorce, real estate conflict, or another civil matter, our online mediators can help you explore a resolution without requiring everyone to gather in the same conference room.
Based in Georgia, with offices in Atlanta and Thomasville, GCAAM provides virtual mediation services throughout Georgia and can assist parties in other states when appropriate.
Ready to resolve your dispute? Request an Online Mediation
What Is Online Mediation?
Online mediation, sometimes called virtual mediation or remote mediation, is a structured negotiation process conducted through video conferencing rather than an in-person meeting. Like traditional mediation, online mediation involves an impartial third party—the mediator—who helps the participants identify their disagreements, evaluate possible solutions, and negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution. A key aspect of mediation is that the mediator–a neutral–does not act as a judge and does not impose a decision. Instead, the mediator facilitates productive discussions and helps the parties find common ground.
What makes online mediation different is simply where the participants are located.
One party might participate from an office in Atlanta, another from a home in Savannah, and their attorneys from entirely different cities. Everyone can participate in the same mediation without the inconvenience and expense of traveling.
You receive the benefits of professional mediation without being limited by geography.
Why Choose Online Mediation Instead of In-Person Mediation?
Virtual mediation offers meaningful advantages for individuals, businesses, and attorneys who want to resolve disputes efficiently.
1. Save Time and Reduce Expenses
Traditional mediation may involve travel expenses, hotel accommodations, conference room charges, and time away from work. Online mediation eliminates many of these costs. Participants can attend from their homes or offices, and attorneys can avoid spending valuable hours traveling to and from mediation. For a dispute involving parties in different cities or states, those savings can be substantial.
2. Schedule Mediation More Conveniently
Finding a date when multiple parties, attorneys, and a mediator can meet in person can be challenging. Online mediation removes many scheduling obstacles, making it easier to coordinate participation among individuals with demanding schedules or different geographic locations. For attorneys managing active litigation, this flexibility can be especially valuable.
3. Participate from a Comfortable, Familiar Environment
Legal disputes can be stressful. Some participants find it easier to discuss difficult issues when they can participate from a familiar and private location. Online mediation allows parties to remain in their own surroundings while participating in a professionally managed dispute resolution process.
4. Maintain Privacy and Confidentiality
Mediation is generally designed to encourage candid discussions in a private setting, subject to applicable law and mediation agreements.
GCAAM’s virtual mediation process can accommodate private discussions between parties and their attorneys, as well as confidential conversations with the mediator. Participants should attend from a private location, use an appropriate internet connection (we recommend a back-up electronic), and follow the mediator’s confidentiality instructions.
5. Resolve Disputes Before They Become More Expensive
One of the most important advantages of mediation is the opportunity to resolve disagreements before additional litigation expenses accumulate. You do not necessarily need to file a lawsuit before participating in mediation. In fact, many disputes are particularly well suited for mediation before litigation begins, when the parties may still have opportunities to preserve relationships, limit expenses, and negotiate creative solutions.
Why Choose GCAAM for Virtual Mediation?
There are many online meeting platforms, but effective mediation requires much more than a video connection.
The quality of the mediator matters! At the Georgia Center for Arbitration & Mediation, we believe that mediators should bring more to the table than the ability to guide a conversation. Our neutrals include experienced professionals with substantial knowledge in their respective fields. They understand the legal, financial, practical, and personal considerations that frequently determine whether a dispute can be resolved.
Mediators Who Understand Your Dispute
A construction dispute involving payment applications, change orders, and project delays requires a different understanding than a divorce involving custody arrangements or a business dispute involving shareholder obligations. GCAAM recognizes those differences. Our approach emphasizes selecting a mediator with experience relevant to the dispute. This allows the parties to spend less time explaining industry fundamentals and more time addressing the issues preventing settlement.
Practical, Creative Problem-Solving
A courtroom generally focuses on legal rights and remedies. Mediation can consider a broader range of possible solutions. For example, a business dispute might be resolved through revised payment terms, a restructuring of contractual obligations, or an agreement that preserves a valuable commercial relationship. Our mediators work to help participants explore reasonable solutions that may not be available through a traditional court judgment.
Professional Administration and Personal Attention
GCAAM provides administrative support to help coordinate mediation sessions, communicate scheduling details, and connect the parties with an appropriate neutral. Our objective is straightforward: make the mediation process professional, accessible, and focused on resolution.
What Types of Disputes Can Be Mediated Online?
Many civil disputes can be successfully mediated through video conferencing. GCAAM offers virtual mediation services across a wide range of practice areas; the following is an example of the many areas in which we provide high-quality mediation and arbitration services (collectively known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Business and Commercial Disputes
Disagreements between business partners, shareholders, customers, vendors, and other commercial parties can quickly become expensive. Online business mediation allows participants to explore settlement options without disrupting their business operations more than necessary. Common matters include breach of contract claims, partnership disputes, unpaid invoices, business transactions, and disagreements over contractual performance.
Construction Mediation
Construction disputes often involve numerous parties located in different places, including owners, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, insurers, and attorneys. Virtual construction mediation allows those participants to come together efficiently, regardless of their location or the project location.
GCAAM’s subject-matter expertise is particularly valuable in matters involving construction defects, payment disputes, change orders, project delays, mechanic’s liens, and payment bond claims.
Divorce and Family Mediation
Divorce, child custody, parenting arrangements, property division, and financial disagreements can involve difficult conversations and emotionally sensitive issues. Online family mediation provides an opportunity to discuss these matters in a structured environment without requiring the participants to meet face-to-face. When appropriate, the mediator can conduct private discussions with each participant and help the parties explore practical arrangements for moving forward.
Real Estate Disputes
Real estate conflicts may involve buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, developers, property owners, or contractors. Online mediation can help address disagreements involving purchase agreements, leases, property conditions, contractual obligations, and other real estate matters.
Employment and Workplace Disputes
Workplace disagreements can affect employees, managers, businesses, and professional relationships.
Virtual mediation offers a flexible process for addressing employment-related contractual disputes, compensation disagreements, workplace conflicts, and other matters appropriate for mediation.
Banking, Finance, and Contract Disputes
Financial disagreements can involve complicated agreements, multiple stakeholders, and substantial monetary claims. GCAAM offers access to neutrals with relevant experience who can help participants evaluate their positions and consider possible resolutions.
How Does the Online Mediation Process Work?
Getting started with virtual mediation through GCAAM is straightforward.
Step 1: Contact GCAAM
Tell us about your dispute, the parties involved, and the general nature of the disagreement. You can begin through our online contact form or by calling our office.
Step 2: Select an Appropriate Mediator
GCAAM can help identify a neutral whose professional experience is suited to your particular dispute. Because mediation is a voluntary process unless otherwise required by agreement or court order, the necessary parties must agree to participate and accept the mediation arrangements.
Step 3: Schedule Your Virtual Mediation
Once the parties have agreed to proceed and the administrative requirements have been completed, we will coordinate a convenient mediation date. Participants will receive information about joining the virtual session and any documents or preparation required beforehand.
Step 4: Participate in the Online Session
During the mediation, the mediator will explain the process and help the parties discuss the disputed issues. Depending on the circumstances, participants may meet together, separately, or through a combination of joint and private sessions. The mediator works with the participants to explore possible settlement terms.
Step 5: Document an Agreement, If Reached
If the parties reach a settlement, their agreement can be documented for review and execution. If the dispute is not resolved, the parties generally retain their ability to pursue other available legal remedies, subject to applicable agreements and law.
Online Mediation Before or After a Lawsuit
One common misconception is that mediation can occur only after someone files a lawsuit. That is not the case.
Online mediation can be useful at several different stages of a dispute.
Before litigation: Parties can attempt to resolve their differences before incurring substantial legal fees and court costs.
During litigation: Attorneys can use mediation to evaluate settlement opportunities while a lawsuit is pending.
Before trial: Even disputes that have been litigated extensively may benefit from a focused settlement conference with an experienced mediator.
After a business or personal relationship has deteriorated: Mediation may provide an opportunity to resolve outstanding financial and contractual obligations without further escalation.
GCAAM welcomes inquiries from attorneys and individuals who want to explore mediation before a dispute becomes more difficult or expensive to resolve.
Affordable Online Mediation for Smaller Disputes
Not every disagreement involves hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes a dispute over a relatively modest amount can create significant frustration and expense. For these matters, GCAAM offers a flat-fee Small Claims Mediation Program for qualifying disputes involving $30,000 or less. The program is designed to provide a practical alternative for disputes where the cost of prolonged litigation might be disproportionate to the amount involved.
Virtual participation can make this option particularly attractive by eliminating travel and conference room expenses. Whether the disagreement involves an unpaid invoice, residential construction work, a business transaction, or another eligible civil matter, our Small Claims Mediation Program may offer a more economical path toward resolution. Contact GCAAM for eligibility requirements, current fees, and scheduling information.
Online Mediation Services Throughout Georgia and Beyond
GCAAM maintains a physical presence in Atlanta and Thomasville, Georgia, but our online mediation services are not limited to those locations. We regularly welcome inquiries from parties seeking virtual mediation throughout Georgia, including:
- Atlanta, Marietta, Decatur, and the surrounding metropolitan area
- Savannah and coastal Georgia
- Augusta and eastern Georgia
- Macon and central Georgia
- Columbus and western Georgia
- Albany, Valdosta, Thomasville, and Southwest Georgia
- Athens, Gainesville, Rome, and North Georgia
Our virtual services also allow us to consider matters involving participants located outside Georgia, subject to the nature of the dispute, the mediator’s qualifications, and any applicable legal requirements. If your parties are located in different cities or states, online mediation may be an especially convenient solution.
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Mediation
Is online mediation legally binding?
Participating in mediation does not, by itself, create a binding resolution. The mediator does not impose a judgment. However, when the parties reach and properly document a settlement agreement, that agreement may be legally enforceable under applicable law.
Do I need an attorney for online mediation?
Not every mediation requires attorney representation. However, legal counsel may be particularly important when a dispute involves substantial financial exposure, complicated legal issues, or agreements affecting important rights. GCAAM’s mediators serve as impartial neutrals and do not act as legal counsel for either party.
Can I mediate online if the other party lives in another state?
Potentially, yes. Virtual mediation is particularly useful when participants are geographically separated. GCAAM can discuss whether an appropriate neutral is available for your matter and whether any jurisdictional or other legal considerations apply.
Is virtual mediation confidential?
Mediation communications may receive confidentiality protections under applicable law and mediation agreements. Those protections vary by jurisdiction and circumstance. Participants should follow the mediator’s instructions concerning privacy, recording, and attendance.
How long does an online mediation take?
The time required depends on the complexity of the dispute, the number of participants, and the issues being negotiated. Some matters can be resolved in a few hours, while others require a full day or multiple sessions.
What equipment do I need?
Generally, you will need a computer or other suitable device with a camera, microphone, and reliable internet connection; in addition, we suggest that the participants have a back-up electronic in case their first choice fails for any reason. You should also have access to a quiet, private location where you can participate without interruption.
How much does online mediation cost?
Costs depend on the selected mediator, the number of parties, and the expected duration of the session. GCAAM publishes its mediator rates and fee information. Virtual mediation can also help participants avoid travel expenses and facility charges.
What if we cannot reach an agreement?
Mediation does not guarantee settlement. If the parties cannot resolve their dispute, they may pursue other available options, including continued negotiations, arbitration by agreement, or litigation, as appropriate.
Can online mediation be used for a court-ordered mediation?
Often, yes, provided virtual participation is permitted by the applicable court rules, court order, and mediation requirements. Attorneys should confirm any court-specific requirements before scheduling.
Schedule an Online Mediation with GCAAM
A dispute does not have to become a prolonged legal battle. And resolving it should not require everyone to travel to the same location. At the Georgia Center for Arbitration & Mediation, we combine experienced, subject-matter mediators with the convenience of modern virtual technology to help individuals, attorneys, and businesses find workable solutions. Whether your dispute involves a construction project, business relationship, real estate transaction, family matter, or another civil disagreement, we welcome the opportunity to discuss your mediation needs.
Resolve your dispute without unnecessary travel. Work with an experienced mediator. Move forward.
Request Online Mediation Services
Atlanta Office: (404) 446-0575
South Georgia Office: (229) 226-4818
Georgia Center for Arbitration & Mediation — Professional Dispute Resolution, Wherever You Are.