Your own lawyer can help you assess a proposed settlement and its consequences. Before the meeting, agree who will explain the history of the dispute, who will address the law and who can sign the agreement. The mediator facilitates an impartial discussion; your representative protects your interests. These roles can complement each other. Good preparation helps you retain control over decisions while allowing your lawyer to focus on the risks that matter to resolving the case.
Key points before you start
- Agree your objectives, limits on concessions and how to discuss new proposals with your lawyer.
- Check authority to enter into the particular settlement, its scope and the required legal form.
- You can ask for a break and have the draft reviewed before deciding.
How should roles be shared at the mediation table?
Aleksandra Orzeł and Karolina Alama-Osmólska discuss preparing clients and giving them room to speak. A practical arrangement is for you to explain your needs and the history of the relationship, your lawyer to clarify legal consequences, and the mediator to help everyone participate in the discussion. Your representative can attend the meeting, or review documents beforehand and advise on the draft afterwards. You agree the extent of that assistance individually.
Article 183³ of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (KPC) requires the mediator to remain impartial. A mediator with legal training does not thereby become one party’s adviser. Article 183³ᵃ permits non-binding suggestions at the parties’ joint request. Your own lawyer can explain what a particular proposal means for you. These functions should be clearly distinguished from the outset.
Sources for this section: [1, pp. 102, 105–106] [2]
What should you discuss before the meeting?
Prepare a short chronology, the key documents and the issues requiring a decision. Separate money from other needs: ending a business relationship on a particular date, returning property, correcting information or agreeing future contact. Ask about the strengths and weaknesses of your position, the costs of further proceedings and the realistic prospects of enforcing a judgment. The risk assessment should also cover what happens if negotiations produce no agreement.
The 2014 chapter encourages analysis of objectives and alternatives to settlement. Three practical questions follow: what do I want to achieve, what concessions can I accept, and what will I do without an agreement? Also agree the lawyer’s fees for preparation, attendance and document review. For an online meeting, arrange a separate confidential consultation channel and a way to request a break.
Sources for this section: [1, pp. 102, 104–106]
How should the draft be checked before signing?
Work through every obligation: who will do what, by when and how. For payment, specify the amount, timetable and consequences of delay. Clarify which claims are covered and which remain open. Wording about a full and final settlement or waiving further claims needs particular attention. An unclear clause is easier to correct before signing than after another dispute has arisen.
Article 183¹⁴ § 3 KPC provides for court scrutiny. The court must refuse approval, among other reasons, if the settlement conflicts with the law, is unclear or contains contradictions. Approval does not remove special requirements concerning the form of a legal act: Article 183¹⁵ § 2. Your lawyer should therefore check whether a separate document or further steps are required. Starting negotiations does not replace compliance with court deadlines.
Sources for this section: [1, pp. 105–106] [2]
Educational scenario — a fictional example, not a case handled by the Foundation.
Settling accounts with a business partner
In this fictional dispute, a business owner in Kraków wants to recover an outstanding payment and end the relationship without losing access to documentation. Her representative reviews the contract before mediation. They agree that she will explain the operational problems while the lawyer examines proposals concerning payment and liability.
During the discussion, payment by instalments is proposed together with a broad release of claims. After a consultation break, the participants clarify which obligations would be settled. This illustrates a possible approach to drafting; it does not show that the other party will accept the terms or that a similar case will settle.
Questions about this topic
Must I attend mediation with a lawyer?
There is no general requirement to have an advocate or legal adviser in ordinary civil mediation. You can obtain advice before the meeting or before signing a draft. The complexity of the case, the value of the obligations and particular legal requirements may justify more extensive assistance.
Sources for this section: [2] [1, pp. 102, 105–106]
Can I ask for a break to consult my representative?
Yes. Agree this working arrangement with the mediator. A break helps you assess a new proposal and make an informed decision. You do not have to accept a settlement merely because the draft was produced during that meeting.
Sources for this section: [1, pp. 106] [2]
Sources and further reading
- Aleksandra Orzeł, Karolina Alama-Osmólska, Rola pełnomocników procesowych w mediacji cywilnej, w: Janina Czapska, Maksymilian Szeląg-Dylewski (red.), Mediacje w prawie, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2014, s. 97–109. ISBN 978-83-233-3672-3.
Pages cited from this edition: 102, 104–106.
- Ustawa z dnia 17 listopada 1964 r. – Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, tekst jednolity Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 468, ze zmianami; w szczególności art. 183¹–183¹⁵, art. 259¹, art. 436 i art. 445².
- Ustawa z dnia 23 kwietnia 1964 r. – Kodeks cywilny, tekst jednolity Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 795; w szczególności art. 121 pkt 5–6, art. 917–918 oraz przepisy o formie czynności prawnych.
An original educational article drawing on the chapter in Mediacje w prawie (2014), with references to specific printed pages. Current legal rules were checked independently as at 23 October 2026; the 2014 publication is not presented as a source of today’s law.
Educational material based on sources checked on 23 October 2026. It does not replace an individual legal assessment of a particular case. The scenarios are fictional and do not describe clients’ experiences or outcomes achieved by the Foundation. Legislation, judgments and research publications are cited alongside the relevant topics; DOIs are provided only for publications that have such an identifier.