All matters discussed at an e-Court mediation are entirely confidential. The parties to a mediation, including the mediator, will sign a mediation agreement that binds all of them to this concept of confidentiality. Nothing that has been discussed by anyone in a mediation can be repeated without the express consent of all involved. Further, nothing that has been discussed in a mediation can be shared with a traditional court or e-Court without the express consent of all involved. Everything, aside form any agreement between the parties, is what lawyers refer to as, without prejudice, in other words, if you ultimately do not solve your dispute through an e-Court mediation and end up in court ( e-Court or a traditional court ) your discussions, and potentially agreement on some issues, in the mediation cannot bind you in any way.

Anyone who has been through the process of bringing a case to a traditional court, or being sued, often feels aggrieved at the costs of doing so. Rarely are lawyers praised for being good value for money. Naturally, each e-Court mediator will have their own way of charging for each mediation. But generally the e-Court mediation cost is fixed at the outset and often this cost is shared between the parties equally. At no time can costs charged by the e-Court mediator be more than 60% of the regular fees charged by the practitioner. There will be no extra costs at the end, in fact all costs including the small e-Court overhead charge are being paid before mediation begins. Whilst the costs of mediations will vary according to the complexity of the dispute, the cost will be fixed at the outset in an entirely transparent way and there will be no surprises. Furthermore it is a comfort to know that there will be strict e-Court rules to state that all monies paid will end up in an escrow run by a third party bank or other recognized reliable organization. On some occasions one party will agree to pay all the costs involved, for example when an employment dispute is the subject of mediation the employer often pays for the mediation. Mediation via e-Court is always a cheaper process than litigating a dispute through a traditional court. .

As mentioned above, after going through regular court litigation many of those involved will complain about the cost of the whole process. The next most frequent compliant is the amount of time it took. From your first meeting with a legal practitioner to the hearing of a civil dispute in a traditional court, it is not unusual for a period of 1 to 2 years to have elapsed. Courts and Tribunals are constantly trying to reduce this delay, and often to good effect. But, for a variety of procedural and other reasons, the whole court process can take a lot of time. e-Court Mediation is a much quicker process an therefore a more attractive way forward. One way e-Court Mediator is quicker is due to the fact that parties do not need to engage a lawyer and one does not necessarily always need the services of a lawyer at their side the whole way through the process as required in a traditional court. Whether a party is introduced to e-Court Mediation through their lawyers, or if they directly engage in an e-Court Mediation, if all paper work is ready and the parties are available, a mediation can be arranged within days of approaching a mediator on e-Court's roster of "vetted" & reliable legal practitioners.

Many disputes that go through the courts can be very damaging, if not terminal, to the relationships of the parties involved. Whilst it is not always possible, the mediation can often preserve the relationships between the parties. One of the main parts of any mediation is when all parties involved hear what each feels the dispute, or problem, between them is. Often, disputes between parties arise as a result of poor communication of a problem between them, or one party feels that the other doesn't understand why they are aggrieved. Mediation can provide a forum for each side to hear what the other side is feeling. In fact e-Court provides a continuous "open" book with full transparency of the recordings of each and every electronic conference. An apology or an explanation can often go a long way towards the resolution of a dispute between parties. Additionally, the lack of the traditional adversarial court processes involving rules of evidence and cross examination are not present in mediation. The e-Court mediation is normally conducted in a neutral and more relaxed venue. The pressure on the parties is therefore reduced, often leading to a more proactive and positive engagement by all involved.

The parties to an e-Court mediation generally set the pace of discussions, agree what the agenda of the mediation will be and decide when to take a break or when a satisfactory agreement is reached. If the parties decide to stop the whole mediation process, that is also within their control. Naturally, any mediator will make suggestions about all of these issues. An effective mediator will be able to identify issues of dispute and in what order they might be discussed, but its is the parties process and their positive involvement will make for a potentially more sustainable settlement and a more satisfactory process.