Raison D'Être - Why We Mediate

By Ehsan Ali and Alnoor Maherali

We met while training in mediation with a well-respected New York institution in conflict resolution and developed a friendship. As we got to know each other, we discovered that our different backgrounds - Alnoor with his decade of diplomatic experience and Ehsan with his years of litigation and arbitration work - gave us different perspectives on conflict resolution, and those differences made us especially effective when co-mediating cases.

We discovered that we focus on different yet compatible dimensions of interpersonal conflicts. And that we both understand aspects of conflict that are often ignored or misunderstood even among mediators: generational, cultural, and religious differences among others. Most important, we were both committed to facilitative mediation - to empowering the parties to find resolutions that work for them. Each of us thought of starting a mediation practice together, but deferred the thought to sometime down the line.

The COVID-19 Crisis changed everything. With tensions running high, and reports of familial and business conflicts skyrocketing and court proceedings stalled, we each knew that we had to do something with the skills and abilities we had honed. And thus, Venn Mediation was born - a service that would provide people with a quicker, more efficient, less expensive and more tailored method of dispute resolution for their homes and businesses.

With this inspiration, our commitment to our clients is paramount. When we take on a case we provide support to both parties and we seek to allow the kinds of conversations that can lead to real, concrete and sustainable agreements. Our facilitative mediation approach, means that our parties do not have particular resolutions forced on them. When you work with Venn Mediation, we help and guide you to find your own solutions. That includes the freedom to leave the mediation space if the process is not working for you. This freedom lets the people and businesses that work with Venn Mediation feel empowered to find agreements that actually work in practice instead of just on paper.

If you are in the midst of conflict, and need some assistance finding your way through, please contact us. We would love to help.