BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center is a department that many residents don’t know is available to them.
“I haven’t heard of it,” said Cynthia Rubio, a community member.
Rubio was pleasantly surprised to find out that the center has been offering free mediation since 1984.
“If I had to describe mediation in one word, that word would be negotiation. And I’ll contrast that when you go to court,” said Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center Director Al Cortez. “There is no negotiation in court. A judge makes a ruling.”
Cortez said it’s important that people have the option to make an agreement before moving to the court system.
“First of all, there’s no charge for the service. You have absolutely nothing to lose,” Cortez said. “When you go to court, you’re going to have to pay a filing fee at a minimum. If you hire an attorney, you are going to pay that attorney as well.”
Cortez is one of nine paid employees at the center, but there are up to 90 volunteer mediators who help about 6,000 clients a year.
“All the volunteer mediators are trained. Many of our mediators who are retired want to give back to the community,” Cortez said. “We have a number of attorneys who understand the court system, and they also donate their time, so it’s really some special people.”
The mediation process used to happen in person, but now it’s mostly virtual. That makes it easier for both the volunteer mediators and the clients.
There are different types of mediation cases that the center takes.
“We get a lot of cases referred to us by the courts. There’s a local rule that if you request a jury trial, you have to come to mediation,” Cortez said.
Those are called the litigation disputes, and Cortez said 90% of them are family disputes, such as post-divorce, child custody and child visitation.
The other type is called a community dispute, which includes animal nuisance, auto repairs, consumer and merchant disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, non-payment of debt, neighbor disputes, property damage and workplace issues.
“We’re seeing a lot of cases referred to us from the finance companies. People have run up loans and haven’t been able to pay them,” Cortez said. “We’re in a very difficult time right now, and some of those loan companies are willing to work with a payment plan.”
Overall, there’s a high settlement rate.
“It’s basically if we can get them into mediation, it is about 80%,” Cortez said.
If the center is not able to help with a specific type of dispute, clients are referred to another agency.
It’s now a service that Rubio plans to keep in mind.
“A lot of people can’t afford attorneys or they don’t want to make a bigger deal out of the issue, so I think it’s good,” Rubio said.
Anyone who wants to set up a mediation or learn more information can visit the center’s website.