Frequently Asked Questions

Melanie Camara is a facilitative mediator who helps the parties in a dispute work toward their own resolution of the dispute. If the parties are in litigation, Melanie will help the parties work toward a settlement of the lawsuit. If a lawsuit has not yet been filed, Melanie will work to achieve a resolution and settlement agreement of the dispute so that the cost of a lawsuit is not necessary.  In the end, Melanie will do as much as the parties request to help the parties resolve their conflict so that the parties do not need to have a judge or jury impose a resolution upon them. Facilitative mediation can be conducted at any stage of a lawsuit. 

If requested by the parties, Melanie can also determine a case evaluation award or serve as an arbitrator.

Melanie Camara has experience with many types of disputes. She has almost 40 years experience as a trial attorney working with personal injury defense law firms, personal injury plaintiff law firms and business law firms. She has handled trials, arbitrations and facilitations in auto accidents, property damage, insurance claims issues, coverage issues, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, construction defect issues, construction injury matters, death cases, burn cases, catastrophic injuries, commercial disputes, employment law issues, business disputes, contract disputes, trademark disputes, and fire claims.

Facilitative Mediators listen to the parties and review all of the information provided to them by the parties prior to and during the mediation hearing. The facilitative mediator must remain neutral and impartial throughout the process. The facilitative mediator must also maintain the confidentiality of the procedure and the confidentiality of statements of the parties. During the facilitative mediation, Melanie will work with the parties to move through the best process to resolve the dispute. The process can take a couple hours or a full day, depending on the complexity or the dispute. If the dispute is in litigation, the facilitative mediator only reports to the court whether or not a settlement has been achieved; any further details are not reported to the court.