The BlueStar System uses a simplified Process. There are six major phases that the mediation process will flow through:
- the Introduction,
- Resources,
- the Opening Meeting,
- the Mediation Process (Negotiations),
- the Master Mediation Agreement,
- and the Resolution.
Please see the details below:
PHASE 1 – The Introduction
01. A participant who is interested in Mediation makes contact here:
02. An email or phone call is setup with the originating Participant who discuss a brief overview. Included in this contact is providing the contact information of the other Participant(s).
03. The secondary Participants are contacted. Confirmation of their agreement to mediate is obtained.
04. If this is a court-referred meditation, court documents are provided by the participant(s).
05. Once this phase is completed, a Docusign Agreement to Mediate form is signed by each party. To review an example of the Agreement to Mediate please look here:
Phase 2 – Resources
06. Once the Agreement to Mediate form is signed, we will together assess how many blocks of time the participants would like to allocate.
07. Blocks of time are in two hour increments. This allows for a flexible tailoring of time to fit the circumstances.
08. Payment is made with half of the total being allocated to each participants. If there are more than two participants, the the total buy is divided by the number of participants.
09. Participants make payment. Please see Pricing and Refund Policy :
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Phase 3 – Introductory Meeting
10. A quick pre-meeting will be held with each party for introductions. We will try to setup a calendar time that will work for the mediator and the participants.
11. Mediation meetings can occur online via Zoom or in person within a certain geographic location. The pre-meeting will also discuss the preferred modality.
12. During the Introduction Meeting the Confidentiality process begins. All Participants must agree to maintaining confidentiality throughout the process.
13. Typically, other people are not allowed in the mediation including attorneys. For children of a minor age. Within the State of Oregon, a minor is defined as someone under the the age of 21. A minor, or an individual who may convey an ‘intellectual disability’ as defined by the law, may have a guardian or person present during the mediation as a no-voice, no vote participant. A juvenile, defined as under the age of 18, cannot agree to the Master Mediation Agreement without a Guardian’s (who may or may not be a Participant) written approval. NOTE: If a Participant requests an attorney in attendance, then both sides should have their attorney attend at the same time, and the attorney’s should work to help solve the issues.
14. Since the mediation process is between two or more Participants, witnesses are not able to be called. Any evidence provided must be self-evident.
15. Since the Introductory meeting is 15 minutes or less, there is not a charge for this meeting.
16. If this is an online mediation, we can also perform a tech-check to make sure that everything works during this phase.
Phase 04 – Mediation Meetings
17. Within the mediation meetings, we will follow a five step process. known as SONAR. a) the Mediator’s Statement, b) Opening Comments from the Participants, c) Negotiations, d) drafting the Agreement, and e) Resolution.
18. The Mediator’s Statement reviews the Agreement to Mediate to answer any questions, and emphasizing ground rules and confidentiality. This key placement of the Statement section is during the first mediation meeting.
19. The Opening Comments are presented by the Participants which covers relevant history, the arguments, and key factors of the arguments. Typically the Participant that requests the mediation begins this session.
20. The Negotiating Section begins the brainstorming process for resolving the dispute. The roadblocks to resolving the dispute are also addressed. The majority of mediation sessions deal with the Negotiations phase.
21. This phase has the most variability within it.
22. To re-emphasize the importance of the confidentiality aspects of the mediation process, any recording or taking pictures of any kind by any technology is strictly prohibited, and the Mediator may cancel the entire mediation if a violation of this policy becomes apparent. This would occur without a refund.
Phase 05 – The Master Mediation Agreement
22. When the Negotiation portion of the process is nearing completion, a draft of the Master Mediation Agreement will be completed. The Master Mediation Agreement will contain all of the main terms of the Agreement, as well as the procedures when a term can’t be complied with because of an unforeseen future event. There can be many drafts and this process may take many sessions to complete. In an attempt to streamline the process, we as a group will begin to fill out the MMA as early as is practical. It is always helpful to see the thoughts in writing.
23. When the MMA is complete, the MMA will be sent out via Docusign for the parties to sign. Once the parties have signed, they are provided a copy of the form. The MMA is completed at this point.
Phase 06 – Resolution
24. During the final phase of the process, the Mediator may assist with any court filings or other closeout processes.
25. The Mediator will destroy all notes within a week after the conclusion of the Mediation. What will be retained will be names, addresses, phone numbers, The signed Agreement to Mediation, and the signed Master Mediation Agreement.
26. The Participants may also participate in a survey about their experience.
27. The Partiicipants will be reminded that the requirements of confidentiality will continue after the end of the Mediation.
If you have questions please contact BlueStar Mediations by using the Contact Form.