Mediation is effective. I started my legal career as a judicial clerk in DC Superior Court on a rocket docket. We had 600 cases filed in the year I was there. Ten percent went to trial. The rest were either dismissed or settled.
Litigation is expensive.
Good attorneys can take advantage of mediation to reach reasonable resolution of disputes. Sometimes it was compelling situations where a trial by a jury was necessary to resolve troubling conflicts. Other times, they attorneys were simply not skilled enough to negotiate an agreement. The FCC's rocket docket is relatively new. What is appropriate for the docket is not clear.