ADR techniques have not been created to undercut the traditional U.S. court system. Certainly, ADR options can be used in cases where litigation is not the most appropriate route. However, they can also be used in conjunction with litigation when the parties want to explore other options but also want to remain free to return to the traditional court process at any point. Of the many ways to resolve a legal dispute other than formal litigation, mediation, arbitration, mediation-arbitration, minitrial, early neutral evaluation, and summary jury trial are the most common. Unlike litigation, mediation provides a forum in which parties can resolve their own disputes, with the help of a neutral third party.
Mediation depends upon the commitment of the disputants to solve their own problems.
The mediator, also known as a facilitator, never imposes a decision upon the parties. Rather, the mediator's job is to keep the parties talking and to help move them through the more difficult points of contention. To do this, the mediator typically takes the parties through five stages. First, the mediator gets the parties to agree on procedural matters, such as by stating that they are participating in the mediation voluntarily, setting the time and place for future sessions, and executing a formal confidentiality agreement. One valuable aspect of this stage is that the parties, which often have been unable to agree on anything, begin a pattern of saying yes.