Does mediation really save time and money?
In order to identify the time and cost savings of mediation, the State of California conducted a study of five court-annexed civil mediation programs that operated in California trial courts between 2000 and 2003. In all five pilot programs, attorneys whose cases settled at mediation estimated savings of 61 to 68 percent in litigant costs and 57 to 62 percent in attorney hours as a result of using mediation to reach settlement. From all of the five pilot programs added together, the total savings calculated based on these attorney estimates of savings in 2000 and 2001 cases that settled at pilot program mediations was considerable: $49,409,385 in litigant cost savings and 250,229 hours in attorney hours savings. Download the entire report (over 400 pages) at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/documents/empprept.
In order to identify the time and cost savings of mediation, the State of California conducted a study of five court-annexed civil mediation programs that operated in California trial courts between 2000 and 2003. In all five pilot programs, attorneys whose cases settled at mediation estimated savings of 61 to 68 percent in litigant costs and 57 to 62 percent in attorney hours as a result of using mediation to reach settlement. From all of the five pilot programs added together, the total savings calculated based on these attorney estimates of savings in 2000 and 2001 cases that settled at pilot program mediations was considerable: $49,409,385 in litigant cost savings and 250,229 hours in attorney hours savings.
