What are the advantages of mediation?
Advantage for the Court:
- Docket management and control.
- Resolves the case without the necessity of additional judicial labor for trial.
- The dispute is resolved early and not on the eve of trial, thereby allowing the Court to schedule other cases in the allotted time.
- Voluntary settlements as a result of bargaining by the parties usually do not need post-trial enforcement proceedings or appeal and resolve all outstanding issues between the parties.
- Citizens and attorneys are more satisfied with the “system”.
Advantages for the Attorneys:
- Enables them to negotiate a settlement which may be more favorable than their expected result at trial.
- Facilitates negotiation - forces the creation of an event at which both sides must negotiate in good faith.
- Accomplishes the goal of the client without a disproportionate expenditure of attorney’s fees.
- Client satisfaction - enables the attorneys to deliver a product (resolution of the dispute) favorable to their client with which their client is satisfied.
- Provides more effective use of the attorney’s time.
- Protection of having the client participate in the negotiation process.
- Durable agreement - no appeal - no collection problem.
- Prevents settlement negotiation distraction during trial process.
Advantage for the Parties:
- Allows them some management control over the resolution of the dispute.
- Prevents the unlimited exposure and uncertainty of a trial.
- Allows them to exert some informed direct influence over the outcome of the dispute after observing the other attorney, the other party, and hearing a capsule discussion of the case with a neutral outsider.
- Avoids the expenses of final trial preparation and trial.
- Allows the party to bargain through counsel for certain key elements which are extremely important in exchange for the other elements which are less important. The Court would make a decision without knowledge of or regard for these key elements.
- Each side gets to see the other’s best offer and the parties can decide to take it or litigate.
- Enables a party to stop an expenditure of time and personal involvement in the litigation and therefore, exert energies to other business pursuits or other normal activities.


