What is mediation?

Mediation is the most rapidly growing form of dispute resolution. It is a confidential process in which disputing parties get together under the guidance of an independent, impartial "neutral" mediator to discuss the issues and interests underlying the dispute.

Mediation is not arbitration, sometimes referred to as a mini-trial, where a neutral third party decides who "wins" and who "loses." Nor is mediation just a settlement conference, where a judge usually tries to persuade both sides to reach a compromise.  In mediation, there is no verdict; there is no judgment; nobody is pronounced the "winner" or the "loser." The mediator does not pick sides or choose whether either party is good or bad.

Mediation involves the disputing parties frankly airing their concerns, explaining their goals and interests, and usually suggesting possible options for resolution.  These discussions sometimes occur openly in front of and among the other parties to the dispute, or in private sessions between just the mediator and one party (and that party's lawyer, if any). These private sessions are called "caucuses," and may be held as often as the mediator believes necessary to fully explore the core issues and interests involved.

Because mediations are confidential, there is no need to fear that facts coming out in mediation will later be used by an opponent as "ammunition" in court.  The vast majority of cases that are mediated are resolved in one sitting, though each dispute is unique. Remember that mediations are completely voluntary.  No party in mediation can be forced into an agreement.  The parties alone have the power to "decide" the case.  Because of mediation's overwhelming success as an alternative to traditional litigation, about two-thirds of the states in the U. S. now require parties to take their cases through mediation before proceeding through the court system.  It is a process that has been tried and tested.

There are many good reasons to consider mediation over traditional litigation, or even arbitration: