Our services
The Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution provides mediated conflict resolution services. Our most commonly-used services are mediation and settlement conference coordination.
Answers to specific questions can be found at our FAQ. If you still can't find what you need, don't hesitate to call us.
Mediation
The process
Mediation is a voluntary, collaborative process in which one or more mediators help disputing parties communicate with each other in order to resolve a dispute.
Unlike arbitration or litigation, where one side "wins" and the other side "loses," the goal of mediation is to help the disputing parties come to an agreement that satisfies everyone. In mediation, the parties control the outcome, not a judge.
Mediation can be useful when parties have some sort of ongoing relationship, as it can be a factor in repairing a breach of trust between parties.
Mediation proceedings are confidential -- like Vegas, what happens in mediation, stays in mediation.
[Back to top]The mediator
Mediators are impartial third parties who are trained to facilitate communication between parties.
Their role is not to advise, judge, or to take sides. The mediator controls the process in order to help the parties achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome.
Our mediators are volunteers who have completed a mediation training course. We have mediators from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds.
[Back to top]Candidates for mediation
Mediation is appropriate for any civil dispute that does not involve violence or crime, so long as all relevant parties are willing to sit down and talk things over with the assistance of a mediator. Examples of commonly mediated conflicts include, but are not limited to:
- Parenting plan modifications
- Dissolutions
- Asset/debt distribution
- Visitation
- Workplace conflicts
- Family conflicts
- Neighborhood disputes
- Boundary issues
- Noise
- Animals
- Contract disputes
- Many, many more
Settlement conferences
A settlement conference is any mediation process required by the court before parties go to trial in a civil dispute.
Generally speaking, we book parties and their attorneys in individual rooms and the mediator in his/her own room.
In a settlement conference, the mediator is always an attorney. The attorney-mediator does not advise or advocate for the parties, but facilitates negotiation, asks questions to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome, and helps the parties write up necessary documents.
When the session has concluded, our Settlement Conference Coordinator sends a Settlement Conference Report to the court as proof that parties mediated on the issue at hand.
PCCDR is the only dispute resolution center in the state of Washington that coordinates pre-trial settlement conferences. Other available options are limited to judicial settlement conferences and expensive private attorney mediators.
[Back to top]Other services
In addition to mediation and settlement conference coordination, we at PCCDR can host "townhall" facilitations for larger groups in conflict.
We also hold forty-hour Basic Mediation Training (BMT) courses at the Center three times per year. For more information about BMT courses, please click here.
[Back to top]Fee schedule
Fees are assessed according to the following schedule:
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Mediation (3-4 hour session, 1 room)
- $50 non-refundable fee, plus $75 = $125 per party (for disputes within Pierce County)
- $50 non-refundable fee, plus $100 = $150 per party (for disputes outside Pierce County)
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Settlement conferences (3-4 hour session, 3 rooms, attorney mediator)
- $50 non-refundable fee, plus $125 = $175 per party (for court actions originating in Pierce County)
- $50 non-refundable fee, plus $150 = $200 per party (for court actions originating outside Pierce County)
If you need to reschedule your session, a $50.00 rescheduling fee will be charged in addition to the relevant scheduling fee. Due to our high volume of cases and the difficulty of coordinating with the schedules of our volunteers, rescheduling may take an additional three or four weeks.
If you need to cancel for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible. Please note that canceling within 10 business days of your session means that you will forfeit your entire session fee.
We understand that parties can be faced with financial constraints, but we ask that each contribute what they can. The minimum fee is $50.00. Parties may apply for a Fee Adjustment. For information about Fee Adjustments, click here.
Fees are per session. If additional sessions are required beyond the first, parties will be charged according to the above schedule.
[Back to top]Starting the process
The Center's scheduling process begins when a party submits a mediation request form and a nonrefundable $50.00 administrative fee. This fee is applied toward the total fee for the session, described above.
Once we have these materials, we send the other party a letter inviting them to mediate and give them ten (10) business days in which to respond. If the other party is amenable to mediation, we will work with both parties to coordinate a session (date/time/mediators) and the collection of the remaining fee balance.
Request forms can be downloaded from our form page. The forms ask for contact information for both parties, information about any protection or restraining orders, party availability, a little background information about the issue to be mediated, and some optional demographic data.
Once the form has been filled out, you can send it to us by mail, fax, or email. All of our contact information is at the top of every page of this website.
For information about acceptable payment options, click here.
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