There must be final closure to the mediation, good documentation of the agreement, and provision for the future. Make sure these are to your and your client’s satisfaction.

Be sure the agreement is:

• Doable, workable, durable. It will not be kept if it cannot be kept.
• Thorough, but not over-killed with burdensome details.
• Clearly understood.
• Accepted by all parties. The most effective enforcement is client satisfaction with the agreement, the process used to reach it, and the way the parties were treated.

Make sure an agreement is documented immediately. If time or the situation prohibit thorough documentation immediately, at least be sure all parties sign a more general agreement and commitment to finalize the details within a short and specific time. The written agreement should answer Who, What, When, Where, and How. Be sure your client thoroughly understands the agreement.

Written agreements should ...

• Be Specific - avoid ambiguous words, provide adequate details
• Set Times - specifically
• Specify actions and who is responsible for each.
• Be Balanced - consideration given and gotten by both sides
• Be Positive - what will happen
• Be Signed by all Parties
• Be Legal (counsel’s responsibility)
• Provide for the future

Monitoring of compliance

Incentives

Ways to ratify or amend

Ways to resolve any unexpected residual or future conflict

If there is no agreement, make clear whether and under what conditions negotiations could resume. Don’t burn bridges or unnecessarily alienate the other side.