Firm news | October 11, 2021

Roschier encourages companies to take part in the Finnish Bar Association’s mediation campaign

This fall, the Finnish Bar Association has launched a pro bono mediation campaign, where dispute resolution experts act as mediators in business disputes.

There are many advantages to mediation, as settling disputes through the courts can take years, and the coronavirus pandemic has only added to the backlog in the Finnish courts. According to the Finnish Bar Association, the Finnish system benefits from several useful forms of mediation, but attorney-assisted mediation is perhaps the fastest, most effective and most affordable option.

Trained mediators Laila Sivonen and Johanna Flythström list some examples of the benefits of mediation:

• Flexibility & informality – parties are free to design the mediation process as they deem best and there are no formal rules.
• Control & ownership– parties have more control over the outcome and it is really their resolution instead of an outcome that is imposed on the parties. As the parties have full control, they will not face any surprises as to the outcome.
• Saves time & energy – mediation is typically a very fast and simple process. If completed successfully, it allows parties to get on with their business and focus on other things.

In the mediation campaign, approximately 80 of the Finnish Bar Association’s trained mediators, among them also Roschier’s experts, offer free mediation to disputing parties from 1 October until 31 December 2021. The campaign offer includes one day of preparatory work and one day of mediation, unless the parties agree otherwise.