The lawyer

Lawyers: sources of solutions

In order to best meet their clients’ needs, lawyers must be able to provide them with a wide range of solutions, beyond the traditional litigation route. Directing and accompanying clients towards alternative dispute resolution methods, when these appear to be the most suitable solutions, represents a real added value for a law firm.

Created in 1995 by the Paris IDF Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the CMAP counts among its founding members the Paris and Hauts-de-Seine Bars.

Through their role as advisers, lawyers contribute to a better knowledge and democratisation of alternative dispute resolution methods.

Why refer your case to the CMAP?

The CMAP is the first mediation centre dedicated to companies in France and an arbitration centre renowned for the quality of its arbitrators and the supervision of its procedures. It has a team dedicated to assisting companies and their advisers, consisting of renowned lawyers and experts.

You will be able to rely on mediation and arbitration rules to ensure the follow-up of the procedures. The CMAP will guarantee the independence and impartiality of the parties involved, placed under the aegis of the Centre’s mediation and arbitration committees.

You will also be able to define the selection criteria for the mediator, the expert or the arbitrator(s) and be assured of the appointment of a certified professional.

In which cases should you refer your case to the CMAP?

Is your client in conflict with a co-contractor (a business partner, a service provider, a supplier, a franchisor, a franchisee, etc.) or a competitor? You can initiate an inter-company mediation process or an arbitration procedure.
For the resolution of conflicts between partners, experience shows that mediation leads to very interesting results. It is sometimes combined with an amicable expertise to help, for example, the partners to increase the value of the company.
For the resolution of internal conflicts within companies, such as conflicts between employees, or between an employee and his or her management, intra-company mediation can meet the needs of your clients, whether you are defending the interests of the employer or the employee.
For the resolution of collective conflicts within or outside the framework of the group action, the CMAP has created a collective mediation regulation.
For purely technical or legal conflicts, the amicable expertise or independent legal assessment will provide your clients with a rapid and confidential response.

Regardless of the business sector concerned, there are alternative paths for your clients.

Which procedure should be initiated?

Mediation and arbitration: what is the difference?

Mediation is a voluntary process in which a third party, the mediator, helps the parties find an amicable solution to their dispute but does not decide the outcome of the dispute. He or she does not make the law. Through the use of different techniques, he or she guides the parties towards an amicable solution.

Arbitration is a private jurisdictional method that consists of submitting a dispute to one or three arbitrators (the arbitral tribunal) who settle the dispute definitively by rendering an award, as would a judge. Comparable to a traditional court proceeding, arbitration differs from it in that it allows the parties to choose the judge(s) of their dispute according to his or her/their competencies and qualities, as well as the applicable law and the language of the proceedings.

If the parties have signed an arbitration clause, they must use arbitration to resolve their dispute. This does not prevent them from also initiating mediation, either beforehand or concurrently. In the absence of an arbitration clause, the parties may decide by mutual agreement to submit their dispute to arbitration by signing an arbitration agreement and/or by referring the matter to the CMAP.

The CMAP’s other services
In addition to mediation and arbitration, the CMAP can offer you other solutions such as an independent technical assessment, an independent legal assessment, a final offer decision or an adjudication. They will enable you to provide your client with the most appropriate response.

The CMAP offers you tailor-made assistance to respond to each situation.
Our team assists you upstream, to define the most suitable solution for your client, and at all stages of the procedure you have chosen, from the implementation to the closing of the case.

Do not hesitate to contact us.