The Mediator will also help each person and their attorney figure the cost of failing to settle the matter in mediation. Mediation should be compared to trials. In trials, the judge, or the jury in appropriate cases, quietly sits and sees and hears the evidence. Evidence is presented through the testimony of witnesses and through documents, and sometimes tangible things. Once the decision is made, it is final, and subject only to limited review by the judge that presided over the case, and possibly by an appellate court to see whether any legal errors were made.
Mediation becomes final only when everyone agrees.
Everyone knows the outcome before they consent to it. In court, litigants must accept whatever outcome is stated by the judge or the jury. In Mediation, discussions continue until each side is satisfied that they can accept the outcome they have negotiated. Once everyone accepts the mediated settlement, it is binding. However, when people mediate without lawyers present, it is possible for them to have their lawyer review a settlement agreement before it becomes binding.