William "Bud" Reynolds has met the requirements to be a Certified
Mediator in both civil matters and family law matters. Mr. Reynolds received
his mediation training and certification from the Saint Louis University
School of Law ("SLU"). The mediation model that Mr. Reynolds
practices and was trained in at SLU, was a model developed by Harvard
Law School through an interdisciplinary approach a few decades ago. Mr.
Reynold’s approach to mediation is that he operates in the arena
of conflict resolution. His job as a neutral mediator is to assist the
participants in reaching their own agreement. This is done by creating
a process (a/k/a environment) where each participant is fully heard, where
each participant can express their interests and ideas about the conflict,
and where the participants have a voice in resolving the conflict. Through
this process Mr. Reynolds hopes to assist the participants in not only
reaching a "settlement" of the dispute, but also reach a full
"resolution" to the conflict because there is an important distinction.
A "settlement" is defined as an
official agreement intended to resolve a dispute, whereas, a "resolution" can be defined
as the action of
solving all disputes.
The mediation model employed by Mr. Reynolds is premised upon: 1) the participant’s
right to self-determination of the outcome; 2) the informed consent of
the parties; and, 3) the neutrality of the mediator.
To Mr. Reynolds this means:
- "Self-determination" means that since the conflict is between
the participants, they are the ones best situated to define what a successful
resolution would be for them -- not the judge and not the lawyers.
- "Informed consent" means that the participants must have a full
understanding of the personal interests, business interests and legal
interests at play in their conflict. There are three areas of interests
that must be addressed if the participants hope to reach a resolution
to their conflict. If two areas are addressed then commonly a "settlement"
will be reached, but if you can address all three areas not only is a
"settlement" reached but also the parties reach a "resolution"
to all disputes.
- Finally, the mediator must remain neutral. The mediator must assist the
participants in creating a process (a/k/a environment) where the participants
can freely express their personal interests, business interests and legal
interests which is what creates the opportunity for both a "settlement"
and "resolution" of the dispute.
If you want an opportunity to have a voice in the resolution of your conflict, thencontact Mr. Reynolds to discuss scheduling a mediation consultation.