Services
Mediation
Practical, durable resolutions without the courtroom drain.
San Francisco Bay AreaSilicon ValleySan JoseOaklandCaliforniaRemote worldwide
At Cadenza, we mediate disputes that people have stopped being able to resolve on their own. Workplace and employment matters, commercial disagreements, and multi-party conflicts, in person across the Bay Area or by secure video anywhere.
Our work is built on a straightforward conviction. Most disputes are narrower than the parties believe, and the settlement lives in the gap between what each side has demanded and what each side actually needs. Finding that gap is the craft.
We prepare before the day. We meet each side privately first, so that the session opens with the real disagreement rather than with a rehearsal of the complaint. We stay engaged afterward, because a meaningful share of matters settle in the days following a session rather than in the room.
The result we aim for is an agreement that still holds a year later. Resolve the dispute before it defines the relationship.
What we handle
Where this fits
Workplace & employment disputes
Interpersonal breakdowns, team friction, internal complaints, and filed employment matters, including those where an investigation has closed and the working relationship still has to function.
ReadCommercial & contract disputes
Disagreements between businesses, partners, vendors, and shareholders, where the commercial relationship is often worth more than the claim in contention.
ReadMulti-party and conflict-system matters
Disputes with several parties, insurers, or interlocking claims, where the sequence of the negotiation matters as much as its substance.
Personal injury
Accident and injury claims, including matters where one side is unrepresented and the negotiation runs against an insurer.
Lemon law
Vehicle warranty claims under California's lemon law, where the disagreement is usually about remedy and timing rather than liability.
Pre-litigation and litigated matters
Matters brought before anything is filed, and matters already in suit, arriving from counsel, from human resources, or by referral from a court or panel.
How an engagement starts
Who initiates
Outside or in-house counsel bringing a matter to a neutral.
HR leaders or General Counsel addressing internal conflict.
Parties who agree to mediate before or during a dispute.
Matters referred to mediation by a court or panel.
Learn more
Plain-language guides
Short explainers on mediation. Start here, then reach out.
What is mediation?
Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral third party, the mediator, helps disputing parties com…
ReadMediation vs. arbitration
Mediation and arbitration are both private alternatives to litigation, and the difference is control. In mediation a neu…
ReadMediation vs. litigation
Mediation and litigation are two routes to resolving a dispute. Mediation is a private negotiation that a neutral facili…
ReadCommercial & business dispute mediation
Commercial mediation is a confidential process for resolving disputes between businesses, including contract, partnershi…
ReadContract dispute mediation
Contract dispute mediation resolves a breach claim through negotiation rather than a judgment. A neutral works with both…
ReadWorkplace & employment mediation
Workplace mediation is a confidential process for resolving conflict between colleagues, between teams, or between an em…
ReadSaaS & enterprise software contract disputes
SaaS and enterprise software contract disputes arise over service levels, usage and true-up findings, data and exit righ…
ReadHow to choose a mediator
Choosing a mediator means weighing four things. Whether the dispute needs subject-matter fluency or process skill, wheth…
ReadHow to prepare for a commercial mediation
Preparing for a mediation means four things. Send the mediator a brief that explains the dispute rather than argues it, …
ReadRemote mediation
Remote mediation runs the same confidential process as in-person mediation, conducted over secure video with private bre…
ReadThe mediation process
The mediation process typically moves through five stages, which are the opening, information sharing, private caucus, n…
ReadInsights
Longer arguments
Written pieces on mediation and the commercial questions around it.
The Last Clause: Why Dispute Resolution Provisions Fail, and How to Draft One That Holds
Why dispute resolution clauses fail, and how in-house counsel can draft step clauses, seat and rules provisions, and carve-outs that hold when a deal goes wrong.
ReadRules Without Referees: Who Is Qualified to Mediate an AI Dispute?
The emerging categories of AI dispute, the JAMS, AAA-ICDR, and WIPO frameworks now governing them, and what a neutral needs to understand to be useful.
ReadBook a consult
Talk through a mediation question
Serving San Francisco Bay Area · Silicon Valley · San Jose · Oakland · California · Remote worldwide. Available in English & Cantonese.