Mediation

 

Moens Law Offices, Chartered provides mediation services throughout Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota. Our offices, located in the Illinois Quad City area, are designed for comfortable and efficient mediations. Thomas O. Moens is a Court Approved Mediator for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit.

 

Here are some frequently asked questions, with answers, regarding mediation.

 

Our rates are $250 per hour for mediation, $175 per hour for preparation (research and reading submissions from the parties or their counsel), $125 per hour travel time, and actual expenses incurred. We charge no administrative fees. Lunch will be provided for mediations at our office and lasting more than five hours.

 

The basic process of mediation is a discussion with an impartial third party, called the mediator. The mediator will work with all parties in a dispute to allow them to work toward a result that is satisfactory to all. Litigation does not allow for creative solutions--it picks a winner and a loser. And often, even the winner loses, by spending thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of time, and severed relationships.

 

Mediation allows the parties to a dispute to be a part of the decision-making process. Litigation requires that you give up control to a judge or a jury, spend thousands of dollars in discovery and endless motions and hearings in and out of court, and you may not even have a final result for years. Mediation is extremely effective, but even in those few cases where mediation does not work, you have not given up your opportunity to litigate your dispute.

 

Another important benefit is that mediation is private, and litigation is very public.

 

To start the mediation process, one or both parties can contact us. We can contact the other party to begin the process, if that is more appropriate in your circumstance.

1523 52nd Avenue, Moline, Illinois 61265, Telephone 309.736.3117, Facsimile 309.736.3143