I see the hands of about four out of about a hundred people in attendance. I see two people raising their hands. Mediation has proven itself as an extraordinarily successful settlement process when conducted by a skilled mediator. The impressive settlement record of domestic mediations has been documented. Disputes channeled into mediation settle at a very high overall rate of about seventy percent.
Mediation is a structured negotiation conducted by a specially trained expert known as a mediator.
The mediator brings to the structured negotiation critical skills for managing the process, including the ability to diagnose impasses as the structured negotiation unfolds. The mediator guides the parties and their attorneys through each distinct stage in the mediation. At the mediation, a mediator usually starts the session with an opening statement that is geared toward shaping the expectations of the disputants. The mediator then manages a structured discussion that encourages the disputants to collaborate in settling the dispute. The mediator may use private caucuses and brainstorming.