Samenvatting

When a lawyer has his/her intake meeting with a client and ponders whether the case is to be taken to court or whether it is appropriate for mediation, different parameters have to be considered.
Mr Green finds out that this photovoltaic installation does not produce the output initially guaranteed, and his lawyer will first have a look at the terms and conditions on guarantee and liability in the sales contract. The lawyer should consider time, cost, potential outcome and future relations between the parties, and compare these four parameters in a situation whereby proceedings in court are initiated with a situation whereby a mediation is started up. The assessment of each of these parameters in court proceedings and mediation is entirely different, and understanding these differences will assist in opting for court proceedings or mediation, or a combination of both. Reflexivity will be key.