Olga Teslya is the managing director of the TopLegal legal center, a seasoned practicing legal consultant, and a certified mediator with over 15 years of intensive courtroom litigation experience. Over her extensive career, she arrived at a sobering conclusion: for a business, formally winning a court judgment and actually achieving a favorable commercial outcome are rarely the same thing. RAEM.KZ sat down with Olga to explore how commercial mediation resolves high-stakes conflicts, why a KZT 2.5 million dispute can easily spawn hundreds of thousands in collateral legal costs, and when structured negotiation is vastly superior to the courtroom.
For a substantial part of her career, Olga viewed legal disputes through the traditional lens of an advocate.
A contract is signed. A covenant is breached. One party feels aggrieved. Consequently, the default path is filing a claim in commercial court and proving your case.
Yet over 15 years of litigation, that textbook logic repeatedly demonstrated its shortcomings.
“Even when a court issues a ruling entirely in your favor, it does not guarantee you will ever recover your funds,” Olga explains. “The respondent company may transfer assets, declare bankruptcy, or vanish into forced liquidation. By that point, the client has squandered money, months of productivity, and damaged professional relationships.”
This realization prompted her transition into mediation. Today, she combines classic legal counsel with neutral dispute facilitation, helping entrepreneurs resolve complex commercial deadlocks quietly, swiftly, and with legally enforceable settlement agreements.
Winning the Case on Paper — But Waiting Years for Payment
In standard litigation, entrepreneurs often fall into the psychological trap of equating an enforceable court decree with liquid cash in their bank account.
In practice, securing a final appellate ruling takes between four and eight months. If the losing debtor lacks liquid assets or deliberately conceals cash flow through shell entities, court bailiffs can spend years fruitlessly hunting for recovery.
Mediation approaches the conflict pragmatically: the objective is not penalizing the opposing party or scoring moral points before a judge, but formulating a realistic, executable settlement where payments actually flow.
A Dispute Over KZT 2.5 Million Can Breed Hundreds of Thousands in Expenses
Olga illustrates the direct economics with a representative commercial scenario: a contractor demands KZT 2.5 million for completed construction services, while the client claims defects and withholds payment.
If the contractor initiates litigation:
- State Court Fee (3% for corporate entities): KZT 75,000 paid immediately upon filing.
- Legal Representation: Retainers for competent commercial litigators typically start at KZT 300,000–500,000 for the trial stage, with additional fees for appeals.
- Expert Forensic Examination: In quality or defect disputes, independent forensic engineering audits easily cost KZT 200,000–400,000.
- Bailiff Fees: Private judicial enforcement bailiffs collect between 3% and 25% of the recovered sum.
Total legal overhead frequently surpasses KZT 600,000 to KZT 900,000 — more than a third of the underlying claim — with zero guarantee that the respondent will remain solvent upon final enforcement.
Mediation on the Same Example: Under KZT 250,000
By contrast, resolving the identical dispute through structured commercial mediation costs a fraction of that amount.
Mediation fees are commonly split equally between both parties. For a dispute of KZT 2.5 million, the entire procedure typically ranges around KZT 200,000–250,000, meaning each side pays roughly KZT 100,000–125,000. Most importantly, the process concludes not in half a year, but in 5 to 10 days.
A Corporate Conflict Escalated to Law Enforcement: Resolved in 10 Days
One of the most vivid case studies in Olga’s career involved a high-stakes partnership breakdown where the parties had already initiated criminal fraud complaints against each other. What started as operational friction over equity shares had transformed into hostile criminal petitions.
“When founders bring criminal charges, the enterprise immediately grinds to a halt: bank accounts are frozen, equipment is seized, and employees resign,” Olga notes. “Through intense mediation sessions, we dismantled their personal grievances and revealed that both simply wanted an equitable buyout. Within 10 days, we drafted a binding settlement, mutual withdrawal of police petitions, and a structured installment buyout.”
When Conflicts Cease Being About Money
In roughly 70% of commercial litigation, financial claims serve merely as a proxy for injured pride, personal insult, or perceived disrespect. An unpaid invoice of KZT 3 million frequently escalates because one CEO refused to take the other’s phone call.
A judge cannot evaluate emotional undertones; courts analyze black-letter statutes and documentation. A mediator, however, specifically addresses the emotional barrier first. Once personal grievances are acknowledged, financial math becomes straightforward to resolve.
“Nobody Negotiates with the Weak”
A widespread misconception is that proposing mediation is a sign of weakness or apprehension about going to trial.
“Effective mediation requires solid legal preparation,” Olga stresses. “Before entering negotiations, we meticulously compile evidence, calculate damages, and draft claim letters. We enter mediation showing the opposing side exactly how and why they will lose in court — but offering them a face-saving, mutually profitable alternative to avoid litigation costs.”
Mediation Can Be Initiated Even After Court Proceedings Begin
Under Kazakhstan’s Civil Procedure Code and the Law on Mediation, parties can transition into formal mediation at any juncture of trial proceedings before the final judgment is delivered.
If the parties reach a signed mediation agreement during judicial proceedings, the lawsuit is dismissed, and crucially, the full state court filing fee is refunded to the claimant from the national treasury.
What Happens If a Party Breaches the Mediation Agreement?
Entrepreneurs frequently worry: what if we sign an agreement, and the counterparty defaults on their installment schedule?
Kazakhstani law provides ironclad enforcement: a formal mediation agreement constitutes an executive document. If a debtor fails to make scheduled payments, the creditor simply applies to the court for a writ of execution without having to re-litigate the dispute from scratch. The bailiff enforces the agreement immediately.
When Mediation Is Not the Right Instrument
Mediation is not a universal cure for every legal scenario. Olga openly identifies situations where litigation is the only rational course:
- Fraudulent or Bad-Faith Counterparties: When the counterparty intentionally defrauded the company and has zero interest in settlement.
- Precedent-Setting Legal Ambiguities: Where the company requires an authoritative judicial ruling to define regulatory compliance or contract interpretation.
- Asset-Stripping Emergencies: Where emergency injunctive relief and immediate bank account freezes by a judge are paramount to prevent dissipation of assets.
Why Business Still Defaults to Litigation
The primary inhibitor remains lack of awareness. Corporate lawyers are trained to litigate, and billable hours frequently reward prolonged courtroom combat rather than rapid dispute resolution.
Progressive enterprise leaders are increasingly mandating compulsory pre-trial mediation clauses in their commercial contracts, recognizing that capital velocity and confidential settlements yield far superior ROI than protracted litigation.
Three Steps Olga Teslya Recommends Before Suing
- Audit the Debtor’s Solvency First: Conduct thorough due diligence on whether the respondent possesses liquid assets, active operating accounts, or real estate before spending money on court fees.
- Conduct a Hard Economic Risk Audit: Calculate legal fees, expert witness costs, bailiff fees, and internal management hours lost to trial preparation.
- Offer Formal Pre-Trial Mediation: Propose professional mediation before filing. If the counterparty agrees, the dispute can be settled within two weeks; if they refuse, their bad-faith posture strengthens your argument before the presiding judge.
Litigation vs Negotiation: A Matter of Pure Business Logic
“Choosing mediation is not about benevolence or backing down,” Olga Teslya concludes. “It is about cold, calculated commercial rationality. A mature entrepreneur does not spend KZT 1 million to recover KZT 2 million after two years of courtroom warfare. A mature entrepreneur uses mediation to secure cash flow today and keep their company moving forward.”
