A non-profit organization of practicing mediators and those who share an interest in the value of alternative conflict resolution methods.

“The courts of this country should not be the places where the resolution of disputes begin. They should be the places where disputes end – after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried.”

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

MEDIATION IS:
A confidential, structured process in which a neutral third party, the mediator, facilitates communication between the parties of a dispute to promote reconciliation, settlement or understanding among them. Basic steps in the process include gathering information, framing the issues, developing options, negotiating, and formalizing agreements. Parties in mediation create their own solutions and the mediator does not have any decision-making power over the outcome.

MEDIATION IS USED TO RESOLVE DISPUTES IN:

• Business
• Community
• Consumer
• Contract
• Human Resources
• Family
• Personal Injury
• Public Policy
• Real Estate

THE AUSTIN ASSOCIATION OF MEDIATORS PROVIDES:

• Information on mediation
• A source for professional and volunteer mediators
• Provides meetings focusing on relevant issues
• Networking

AAM was incorporated in 1981 as the Austin Family Mediation Association. In recognition of the growing diversity in the field of mediation, in 1992 AFMA decided to expand its scope and became the Austin Association of Mediators.