Lawyer for dispute resolution: commercial mediation, conciliation

Mediation for companies – commercial mediation in contract, technology and IP conflicts

Quick start: what is your matter about?

Your contact: Jean Paul P. Bohne, LL.M., MM

Partner, commercial mediator, Fachanwalt für IT-Recht and Fachanwalt für Urheber- und Medienrecht (certified specialist lawyer for IT law and for copyright and media law).

Send mediation enquiry

What happens after your enquiry?

After your enquiry, we will get back to you within 24 hours on working days. The first contact is free of charge. We will expressly inform you before any costs arise.

1. A short description is enough. A short chronology, existing contracts, previous correspondence and the key points of dispute are helpful. Please let us know about running deadlines immediately.
2. Receipt and initial sorting. We assess the enquiry on the basis of the project described, the documents and the apparent goal. Deadlines and dates should be clearly recognisable.
3. Suitable starting point and cost range. We clarify whether an initial consultation, a service package or a specific mandate is the next step. As soon as the scope of the review is clear, we tell you the cost range – before work begins.

Typical cases from our practice

The following scenarios are abstracted and simplified. Which solution holds up always depends on the specific facts and the contractual situation.

What you will have at the end

When mediation makes commercial sense in a business context

Mediation is not worthwhile in every dispute. It is particularly strong when the legal problem is serious but the parties still have a real chance of negotiating and implementing a solution.

Controllability is decisive, harmony alone is not enough

For companies, mediation is regularly of interest when the conflict has escalated but does not yet necessarily require an immediate judgment, an immediate injunction or aggressive preservation of evidence. Anyone wanting to stabilise supply relationships, development projects, licence models, shareholder structures or management teams often needs a procedure that properly classifies legal risks while still leaving room for commercially viable solutions.

Typical constellations

• project crises in software, platform and digital projects
• disputes over scope of performance, acceptance, remuneration or change logic
• licence, trade mark, copyright and know-how conflicts
• shareholder and management conflicts with considerable internal impact
• broken-off collaborations, distribution disputes and strained business relationships

Commercial added value

• non-public conduct of proceedings
• more scope for solutions than merely winning or losing
• less escalation damage to sales, product, reputation and team
• better connectivity for new contract or governance structures
• earlier operational relief when decision paths are clearly organised

What mediation is legally

Legally, mediation is not a free discussion group without rules. Decisive are in particular the Mediationsgesetz, the provisions on out-of-court dispute resolution in the Zivilprozessordnung and, for cross-border civil and commercial matters, the European Mediation Directive.

Legally, it is a confidential and structured procedure in which the parties develop a solution voluntarily and on their own responsibility. The mediator does not decide, does not pass judgment and does not replace partisan representation of interests. Especially in complex corporate conflicts, a clean separation of roles is therefore central: whoever mediates neutrally does not at the same time take on the same matter as a partisan representative.

Also particularly relevant for clients are disclosure, neutrality, confidentiality and the question of how an agreement reached is later robustly documented and, where appropriate, made enforceable.

Official sources with real value

• Mediationsgesetz (Mediation Act) on gesetze-im-internet.de (opens in a new tab)
• Section 278a Zivilprozessordnung on mediation and out-of-court dispute resolution (opens in a new tab)
• Justiz NRW: FAQ on mediation and the conciliation judge procedure (opens in a new tab)
• Zertifizierte-Mediatoren-Ausbildungsverordnung (Ordinance on the Training of Certified Mediators) (opens in a new tab)

Clarity of roles is not a side issue

Before starting, it should be clearly established whether ITMR mediates neutrally, accompanies one party as a lawyer, leads the other side into a structured negotiation or prepares the contentious escalation option in parallel. Especially in complex corporate conflicts, this separation is central for trust in the procedure, confidentiality and strategic controllability.

Properly distinguishing mediation, conciliation judge, conciliation and arbitration

Anyone mixing up these procedures often makes the wrong escalation decision. For companies, the label matters less than the question of who steers, who decides and how binding the result is in the end.

When you need us

The focus is on conflict situations in which mediation offers real commercial leverage and adjacent specialist fields are only relevant insofar as they legally support the subject matter of the dispute.

Contract and project conflicts

Typical are escalated software, platform, website, e-commerce and service projects: scope of performance, change logic, acceptance, defects, delays, remuneration, responsibilities or handovers. Where the substantive foundation lies in the digital contract, in-depth treatment under IT law is often the first specialist anchor. For distribution and platform-related models, e-commerce supplements the classification.

Licence, copyright, trade mark and know-how conflicts

Mediation can be particularly useful when chains of rights are not fully clarified but both sides have a commercial interest in continuing or in a controlled separation. Relevant in-depth pages at ITMR are licensing and rights clearance, copyright law, trade mark law, industrial property protection and trade secret protection.

Management, shareholder and team conflicts

Especially in growth phases or tense restructurings, conflicts often tip over less because of a single legal problem than because of blocked communication, unclear roles and damaged trust. For employer and management topics, employment law for companies is an important supporting area. For organisational and escalation architecture, often also IT compliance and legal register.

Data protection, media and reputation situations

When conflicts touch on sensitive data, internal communication, publications or reputation, non-public conduct of proceedings can be particularly valuable. Adjacent fields here are above all data protection law, privacy litigation and media law. What matters is whether a negotiation window still exists or contentious defence already dominates.

Not every conflict belongs in mediation first

If there is an immediate need for injunctive relief, evidence has to be secured, a platform is to react quickly or one side is clearly only playing for time, another first measure is often more appropriate. In that case, procedural law & strategic litigation or preliminary injunction and cease-and-desist declaration at ITMR are the more appropriate starting points.

Process of a mediation mandate

A good mediation procedure depends on a clear design. Especially in a corporate context, topics, participants, procedural rules and decision paths must be properly prepared.

• 1. Conflict picture and clarification of rolesAt the outset, it is clarified whether mediation really is the suitable procedure, which parties and decision-makers belong at the table, which deadlines are running and whether ITMR mediates neutrally or accompanies a party as a lawyer.
• 2. Setting topics and the procedural frameworkThen the points of dispute are prioritised, the scope of confidentiality is determined, document circles are defined and organisational guard rails for the procedure are agreed.
• 3. Making interests, risks and blockages visibleAt its core, it is about positions and above all the underlying commercial interests, reputational risks, limits of implementation and needs to save face. This is often exactly where the actual space for solutions arises.
• 4. Structuring and negotiating solution optionsOnly when interests, technical facts and legal limits are properly sorted are robust options developed. In corporate conflicts, these are often payment questions and at the same time new scopes of work, settlement rules, licences, governance elements or lines of communication.
• 5. Documenting and securing the resultIdeally, the result is a written agreement. Depending on the case, it must also be examined whether a court settlement, notarial form or other safeguard makes sense for enforceability.

Confidentiality, trade secrets and enforceability

Confidentiality is one of the greatest advantages of mediation. In everyday business, however, merely referring to confidentiality is rarely enough. Sensitive information must be shielded properly in practical and legal terms.

Anyone working with source code, product roadmaps, customer data, pricing logic, supply chains, internal investigations or personnel information in a mediation should precisely limit information flows. In cases involving personal data, the General Data Protection Regulation is often also affected. For technical or commercial know-how, the requirements of the Gesetz zum Schutz von Geschäftsgeheimnissen (German Trade Secrets Act) regularly matter.

In many mandates, this therefore involves the mediation procedure itself and the accompanying confidentiality architecture. Helpful at ITMR for this are above all trade secret protection and confidentiality agreement and non-disclosure agreement.

What companies should pay attention to before the first session

• Who may participate and make binding decisions?
• Which documents may enter the procedure?
• Which information remains exclusively within the closest circle?
• Which form of minutes or result is desired?
• How will an agreement later be secured contractually and, where appropriate, made enforceable?

Contractual commitment is not automatically enforceability

A solution found in mediation can be contractually binding without already being directly enforceable in every constellation. Especially with larger payment, injunctive, transfer or implementation obligations, it should therefore be examined early which form of documenting the result is needed.

ITMR's services in mediation and conflict management

ITMR works on conducting the talks and on a commercially viable conflict architecture. This is particularly important when digital contracts, intellectual property rights, sensitive information or reputation-relevant topics are affected at the same time.

Properly reviewing the suitability of the procedure

We assess whether mediation, a structured settlement negotiation or the direct route to contentious enforcement is the better starting point. Time pressure, willingness to cooperate, balance of power, information situation and need for safeguards are realistically assessed.

Preparing and accompanying mediation proceedings

We structure the procedural framework, define topics, help with questions of participants and roles and accompany the legal and commercial classification in ongoing proceedings.

Robustly documenting agreements

We draft agreements so that they work communicatively and also hold up contractually and operationally. Depending on the case, this includes scopes of work, handovers, clearances, licences, payments, communication and governance rules.

Keeping litigation options open in the background

Where mediation fails or only partly works, the transition to negotiation, litigation or interim relief must be prepared. Precisely this connectivity reduces the risk of losing valuable time.

Further topics at ITMR

Depending on the core of the conflict, a neighbouring ITMR page is often closer in substance. The following in-depth pages help classify the case correctly more quickly.

When the case is already tipping over

• Procedural law & strategic litigation
• Preliminary injunction and cease-and-desist declaration
• Privacy litigation

When contract and project are at the centre

• IT law
• E-commerce
• Licensing and rights clearance
• Article on mediation in long-standing business relationships

When intellectual property rights and confidentiality are the drivers

• Copyright law
• Trade mark law
• Industrial property protection
• Trade secret protection
• Confidentiality agreement and non-disclosure agreement

Contacts and next steps

If mediation is an option for your case, the initial review should begin with a sober assessment of the situation: core of the conflict, parties involved, deadlines, desired result and realistic escalation options.

Initiate a mediation mandate in a structured way now

Helpful for getting started are a short chronology, existing contracts or framework agreements, correspondence already conducted, identified points of dispute and an assessment of whether the other side is still able to negotiate. If claims, warning letters, hearings or deadlines are already on the table, this should be communicated immediately.

Continue to send a mediation enquiry and book an initial consultation.

Jean Paul P. Bohne, LL.M., MM

Lawyer | Partner | Commercial mediator

Jean Paul P. Bohne works at ITMR in IT law, copyright and media law, data protection law and industrial property protection and is already identified on the ITMR mediation page as the responsible lawyer for mediation and conflict management.

Timocin Can

Lawyer

At ITMR, Timocin Can focuses in particular on IT law, e-commerce, social media law, telecommunications law and adjacent digital conflicts. His profile expressly highlights mediation as a particular concern.

Key terms

Mediation

Confidential, structured procedure in which the parties develop their own solution.

Güterichter (conciliation judge)

Judge who mediates in court proceedings and does not decide.

Schlichtung (conciliation)

Procedure with a settlement proposal from a third party.

Schiedsverfahren (arbitration)

Private decision of a dispute by an arbitral tribunal.

These terms explain the language used on this page. What matters is always the specific individual case.

Provisions and reliable sources

The following statutory provisions and regulations are cited on this page.

Article on mediation

This article explores when mediation is particularly suitable as a way of resolving conflicts.

Frequently asked questions on mediation for companies

In corporate conflicts, it is rarely only about the fundamental question of whether mediation works. Decisive are bindingness, confidentiality, timing, clarity of roles and the right transition to other procedures.

Resolving conflicts in a structured way