What is the role of lawyers in the friendly resolution of conflicts

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Alternative dispute resolution does not end with mediation and arbitration but also includes effective negotiation.

Unlike mediation and arbitration in which the professional – whether a lawyer or not – must have passed a specific postgraduate course and very specific training, respectively, effective negotiation is inherent to the legal profession.

One has the general view that a lawyer is engaged only in litigation in court and this is not the case. Most of the tasks performed by any lawyer focus on negotiation, either directly between the people involved in the problem, or with the lawyer of the party with whom the client himself has a problem.

So much so that, when a client enters a law firm, he seeks professional advice in relation to the issue that worries him and at the same time a quick and economical solution. Often the client thinks about going to a law firm when he is already in trouble.

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In this case, the lawyer's task is to settle the differences between people who are immersed in the same problem. In fact, the effective negotiation that a lawyer can carry out in this regard becomes a cheaper system for the client than a judicial procedure, at the same time that it is much faster, by far, and more flexible, since all the people involved have direct access with the lawyer, since the negotiation is personal and direct.

In fact, in effective negotiation, solutions are more effective because they have been reached by actively listening to the anxieties of both sides. Solutions that are incorporated into an agreement signed by all parties and that, if this is their will, is approved by a notary, and this without ever going through a judicial proceeding.

We can affirm that today there are many legal professionals who assume this role of negotiator, in order to provide a professional service to all those people who, for whatever reason, do not want to go to court to avoid publicity, investment in time and the emotional cost involved in a judicial procedure.

And we cannot deny that effective negotiation will depend on the negotiating skills of the lawyer involved, on their good preparation for law (family, employment, etc.), on their ability to communicate, but above all on their trust in the lawyer-client relationship, which is the basis of the lawyer-client relationship.

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With effective negotiation, the lawyer gives a more complete and satisfactory service to clients, since communication between the parties is essential to facilitate the solution of the problem raised. And, as it could not be otherwise, the lawyer also fulfills his social function, which is to help make justice more agile and effective for citizens.

In any case, in our office we have professionals who are prepared to carry out effective negotiations in areas of law such as family law (divorce, separation, custody and custody of minor children, alimony, the attribution of assets of the marriage or partner), labor (dismissal, withdrawal of the worker, the rights of both the worker and the company, settlements, among others), successions (inheritances, legitimate claims...) and in the civil sector in general (community of neighbors, claims for quantity, traffic accidents...).

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Pilar Comella Canut

Lawyer