Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution method in which the parties, before or during a formal dispute, voluntarily seek intermediation and guidance by a qualified professional. In mediation, the parties are free to decide and choose the best path to reach an accord. Based on a reflexive and evaluative method, the mediator maps the conflict and impartially brings the parties together with focus on resolving their impasse.  

At the same time as it helps to rescue the parties’ virtues, it neutralizes external and internal interferences that can hamper understanding the root causes of the conflict. The purpose of the work is to understand the parties and help them end their conflict by signing an accord.  

In the process of managing and resolving conflicts, mediators have the mission to promote peace and encourage the parties to seek alternative means to resolve conflicts that are faster and less costly than through the arduous judicial route, or to end the dispute in an ongoing lawsuit.  

The Private and Judicial Mediation area acts simultaneously in all aspects of disputes, from the simple to complex, in or out of court, in the various areas, such as family, consumer, civil, business, sports, labor and public relations, using a proprietary method developed over the past two decades.   

This method is divided into four phases, which not only make a decisive contribution to resolving the conflict, also promote the transformation of the people involved in the conflict. 

These phases are the following: 

1. Comprehension and Neutralization of the Conflict: In this first phase, the mediator tries to help the people to reduce their emotional baggage and choose the best path, without outside interference or feelings that can aggravate the dispute rather than promoting the attainment of the objectives. By understanding their true needs and motivations, the parties can better control their emotions, separating the people (subjective aspects) from the material problem, and thus prepare them to advance to phase 2.   

2. Negotiation: Once the conflict is better understood and neutralized (often internally), the parties will be able to negotiate with greater tranquility and clarity. This can involve the preparation of spreadsheets by the mediator to indicate the evolution of the dispute and support reaching a negotiated settlement to end the conflict. In this phase, the outlines of an accord become clearer. 

3. Contracting: In this phase, the parties materialize the draft of the accord, with the help of their respective lawyers, reflecting what was agreed in the spreadsheets of the second phase. With this, the parties feel their desires have been more clearly met, because all material desires have been associated with an individual internal need. This leads to solid accords that really address the causes of the conflict and resolve them definitively, avoiding future discussions between the parties.  

4. Judicial recognition: This final phase is necessary for the settlement accord to be legally enforceable.  

The mediators of Vertus have extensive experience and recognition in the market, with the capacity to handle thousands of accords per month on average, in areas such as consumer rights.