The mediator cannot compel either party to resolve the dispute in any given way, because the parties retain absolute control over the outcome. Mediators meet jointly and privately with all parties in order to gain a thorough understanding of the parties needs and interests. Because the process is confidential, parties are able to test their perception of the facts and the law with the assistance of an unbiased third party. Even in those cases where resolution is not achieved, mediation is still beneficial because it serves to streamline the issues in dispute. Ultimately, if a mutually acceptable resolution cannot be achieved, resolution by some other process will be required.
Mediation is most appropriate when an ongoing business or personal relationship is involved.
It is in no one s best interest to subject a business or personal relationship to the adversarial and divisive system of litigation if the parties wish to conduct business together in the future. It is best entered into early in the life of a dispute before parties have committed to hard and fast positions, and before anger, hostility and the expenditure of large sums of time and money have poisoned the atmosphere. That is the point in time when a neutral, objective and impartial third party may assist the parties in achieving results which, experience has shown, can be imaginative, inventive, and not necessarily based on a monetary settlement. It is this ability to craft results which meet the parties underlying interests and overall objectives that is unique to mediation and one of its many significant benefits. Mediation can be done quickly and in a cost-effective manner.