What are the costs of mediation and who incurs them?
The basic costs of mediation are threefold: the mediator or mediators, the manager of the mediation program, and the space required for in-person hearings or telephone conference calls. Courts generally incur these costs. They do not charge the parties. In the 1990s courts tried to reduce travel time by mediators and not to require a lot of space at a court for mediation sessions. Therefore, appellate court mediation developed the use of telephone conference calls to conduct initial and follow-up sessions. As a result, the cost of a mediation program might be limited to the salary and fringe benefits of a mediator-manager and an administrative assistant, as well as telephone charges. A program that handles 100 to 150 cases per year might cost $150,000 to $175,000 per year. For documentation of these estimates, see Roger Hanson, A Report on the Use of Mediation in Civil Appeals in the New Mexico Court of Appeals (2001).
