If I mediate, do I still need an attorney?
The short answer is no. You can always represent yourself in a mediation. However, there are a couple things that you need to be aware of going in.
First, while the mediator is neutral, both sides are going to present their case to him at the beginning. If one side has a seasoned attorney and the other side does not, he may be more swayed to one side’s argument, and therefore lean to settling in one direction as opposed to the other. The other thing is if you don’t speak to an attorney or have an attorney present, you may be waiving certain legal rights that you have, that you are unaware of at the time. Therefore, prior to going into any mediation, I would recommend at least speaking with an attorney beforehand.
