Why would parties mediate as opposed to arbitrating or going to court?
1) Parties will most often mediate because it is the fastest, most economical way to settle a dispute with minimal pain, suffering, or missed time from work or other duties. 2) Parties will mediate when they have issues but are still talking. Both parties agree that wasting time and money is not in their best interest, but don’t really want to leave the decision solely in one person’s hands, so they decide to mediate. All they are really doing here is attempting to have a buffer in their disputes. Oftentimes the parties only disagree on a few issues, but those issues are emotionally charged and make it difficult to communicate, so a mediator steps in, tries to maintain calm, and attempts settlement through mutual negotiation. Most divorces are mediated. 3) The third most frequent form of mediation is where parties are so sick of litigation, so sick of each other, and so sick of wasting money, that both parties kind of throw their arms in the air and say, “Let’s just go see somebody so
