Lawyer and registered mediator

JUDr. Martina Doležalová, PhD.

  • Resolve your dispute out of court with the help of a mediator
  • On a professional level
  • With a personal approach
  • With professional care

The success rate of mediation is about 80% and depends on the willingness of the parties to agree.

Mediator of the year 2019

wwl

Mediation and advocacy

Mediation and how to prepare for it?

Mediation proceedings

Mediation is one of the extrajudicial dispute resolution means. It has nothing to do with meditation, media or medication. It is an informal and private process, which is led by an independent third party – the mediator.

Under Czech law, only a person entered in the Ministry of Justice Registry of mediators may provide services as a certified mediator. A mediator is an expert on effective negotiation who uses various communication techniques and strategies to help the mediation participants reach a settlement of their dispute and find a mutually acceptable solution. Mediators usually have legal or psychology education which closely relates to conflict resolution and communication. A mediator is always impartial and bound to maintain confidentiality.

Compared to a judicial or arbitration process, mediation has many advantages:

  • Mediation works with concepts such as interests, needs and priorities of the participants, not the guilt, truth or justice.
  • Mediation searches for a solutions, not for the culprits.
  • Participants may interrupt and terminate the process at any time.
  • Mediation respects the privacy of the parties and the confidentiality of the information communicated.
  • It is faster than the court – the average length of civil proceedings is at least 2 years. In mediation solutions are usually reached within days or months.
  • It’s cheaper than a lawsuit – the mediator’s fee is shared by both parties equally.

The Mediation process is a search for solution by agreement.

  • The parties form the content of the final mediation agreement, they decide their own case rather than relying on other authorities. To make the agreement enforceable, the parties present it to the court, which approves it in the form of court settlement in accordance with § 99 of the Civil Procedure Code. The approved settlement has the same effect as a final court judgment.
  • Mediation is a voluntary process, which starts with the signing of the agreement to mediate.
  • Each participant is entitled to terminate the mediation at any time by a written notice to the other participants, with no need to spell out any reasons for the termination.

Commencing mediation does not prejudice the parties’ right to seek protection of their rights and interests through a court order.

Cases suitable for mediation

  • Parties are linked by personal or business relationships that must or may last.
  • Where emotions complicate the search for a solution.
  • When costs, risks and stress associated with litigation are too big.
  • The dispute is complex and the outcome is uncertain.
  • The dispute is tricky, because its solution involves classified information.
  • When publicity through trial would be detrimental.
  • Costs related to arbitration or litigation are disproportionate to the disputed value.
  • Litigation takes too long.

How to prepare for mediation to make it as effective as possible

  • It is important to assess the situation realistically and creatively.
  • Leaving emotions and feelings aside, what are the facts.
  • What are the best and the worst possible outcomes.
  • What are the main arguments of the other party and how can be taken into account.
  • Is there any solution that might be attractive for both parties.
  • What happens if mediation fails to resolve the dispute.
  • Your lawyer should explain the legal risks of the dispute and costs and time needed to resolve the dispute through litigation.

Education and Professional experience

Founder of legal mediation in the Czech Republic.

Work experience

contract law, real estate law, civil and commercial law (general practice in an independent law firm)

 

Language skills

Czech, Slovak, German (active), English (active), Russian (passive)

    • Certified mediator in civil, commercial and consumer matters (except for family disputes).
    • Head of the ADR Section  (alternative dispute resolution) at the Czech Bar
    • Lecturer of the Czech Bar in European law and mediation.
    • In partnership with the Brussels Bar, she managed to acquire a European Commission grant for the Czech Bar to educate lawyers in mediation.
    • Up to now, she has trained more than 250 lawyers in mediation (60-hour training). She pioneered civil & commercial mediation in the Czech Bar Association.
    • Member of the working group of the Ministry of Justice that drafted the Mediation Act; leader of the team of authors and a co-author of the Commentary on the Mediation Act (Beck publishing house).
    • The chairwoman of the board of examiners for the state examination in mediation, appointed by the Minister of Justice.
    • 2017 appointed by the Minister of Justice one of the Members of the new working group for Mediation at the Ministry of Justice.
    • Since February 2016, a conciliator in consumer disputes between the attorney and the consumer, appointed by the Chairman of the Czech Bar. The Head of Mediation Group for Conciliations at the Czech Bar Association.
    • National representative of the Czech Bar in UIA till 2017 (Union Internationale des Avocats – an international organization of lawyers).
    • Active member of UIA Mediation Committee (successful PPP at the Budapest Congress 2017 – Mediation During Trial, at the Toronto Congress 2017 – Truth in Mediation).
    • Occasional lecturer at the Charles University in Prague (Law Faculty) and regular lecturer at the CEVRO Institute in Prague (LLM Programm Medition and Arbitration lectured together with Dr. Vít Horáček and chaired by doc. JUDr. Alena Macková).
    • Occasional jury member of the ICC in Paris during international competitions of students in mediation; the coach of Charles University students at the international competition in negotiation and mediation CDRC in Vienna in 2015 (3rd-4th place out of 16).

    Conferences and Publications

    • Author of numerous conference papers on mediation, at home and abroad (eg. 2006 for Corporate Lawyers Union, 2007 for the Association of Mediators and the Czech Bar, the Congress of the World Forum of Mediation Centers UIA in Prague in 2013 (also an organizer); Juridical fall 2013, 2014, professional conferences of the Union of Judges – April 2014, a round table on consumer ADR in 2015 – Financial and Administration College in Prague (VŠFS), the Czech Bar conference on confidentiality of lawyers, 2015; 2017 UIA Congress in Budapest – PPP Mediation During Trial).
    • Author of numerous expert articles on mediation:
    • Mediation as a supplement (or alternative?) to litigation, Advocacy Bulletin 8/2002 – Van Leynseele, Van de Putte, Doležalová
    • Legal aspects of mediation, Law and family 11/2006 – Doležalová
    • Practical issues of cross-border mediation, Advocacy Bulletin 7-8/2009 – Doležalová
    • E-guide on mediation (50 pages, in English and Czech) as an output of the grant project, athttp://www.cak.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=8693 , Van Leynseele, Doležalová
    • Mediation in the legal environment – Legal Perspectives 2013, Doležalová, Van Leynseele
    • Commentary to the Mediation Act – Beck, 2013, leading a team of authors and a co-author (Doležalová, Hájková, Potočková, Štandera)
    • The institute of MedArb and its application in the Czech environment – Advocacy Bulletin 1/2015, Doležalová.
    • Conciliation Between Lawyer and Client (Consumer) at the Czech Bar Association – Nederlands-Vlaams tijdschrift voor Mediation en Conflictmanagement, 2017 (21)/1, Martina Doležalová
    • Co-Author: Change of circumstances in contract law – Changing the circumstances of concluding a private law contract as an issue in ADR, Wolters Kluwer 2022, Pilik a kol.

    Education

    • 2014 – Doctoral studies at the Charles University in Prague, specialization in international private law, Department of Commercial Law (PhD.)
    • 2013 – Registered mediator entered in the Ministry of Justice Registry
    • 2011 – Examination and certification in mediation, the Brussels Bar and the Czech Bar
    • 2000 – European Studies at the Université Libré de Bruxelles, Belgium (European law, mediation) – together with the legal practice at Ashurst, Morris, Crisp law firm (London office,  Frankfurt/Main branch, a three-month study and internship in 2000). Organized by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).
    • 1996 – Member of the Czech Bar – attorney at law
    • 1987 – Rigorous examination at the Charles University, (JUDr – Juris Utrisque Doctor)
    • 1987 – Graduate of the Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law

    Mediation fee

    since 1. 1. 2019
    3000-5000 Kč + DPH/for each started hour of mediation depending on the value and complexity of the case
    • The mediation fee is based on time, it may be an hourly, daily or half-daily fee.
    • I am a VAT payer.
    • Contractual remuneration for mediation services is since 1.1.2019 usually around CZK 3.000 to 5.000 + VAT for each additional hour of mediation, depending on the value and complexity of the case. Each of the two parties pays one half of the fee.

    Contact

    JUDr. Martina Doležalová, PhD., advokátka a zapsaná mediátorka

    Attorney at law and registered mediator

    reg. number Czech Bar: 08259
    E-mail: judr.dolezalova@email.cz
    Tel: +420 266 704 113
    +420 606 729 679
    Address: U Průhonu 5
    Praha 7 – Holešovice, 170 00
    Česká republika
    Business reg. IČO: 43085431
    I am a VAT payer.

     

    Map

    Consumer Information

    On 5 Feb 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic authorized the Czech Bar to render extrajudicial consumer dispute resolution services for consumer/attorney disputes arising from contracts on the provision of legal services (in compliance with Act 634/1992 Coll., Act on Consumer Protection, as amended). The web page of the authorized entity is www.cak.cz.

    Czech Bar Association

    List of mediators

    CEVRO INSTITUT VŠ