Those of us who do both mediation and Collaborative Law see Collaborative Law as the more efficient and less costly of the two modes, for most people. Of course, if two very calm and reasonable people whose issues are not complex go to a mediator, they can often achieve agreement efficiently and often at low cost. Collaborative Law can deal well with these predictable happenings. Many people genuinely believe that they will have a very quick and simple divorce negotiation, but life can be surprising. In my experience it is better to have a process in place that is well-equipped to deal with the unexpected problems than to have to terminate a mediation and start over with litigation counsel.
Litigation is, quite simply, the most expensive way of resolving a dispute.
By way of illustration, it is common for litigated divorces to begin with a motion for temporary support. The entire divorce still remains to be dealt with. It is not unusual for my entire bill for all the work I do in a Collaborative Law representation to be lower than that. Of course, in some instances the issues are complicated or the parties resistant to settlement, and the fees can be higher. Even in the cases where my bill is higher than that, it is a certainty that my fees for litigating the same issues would be a great deal higher.