In mediation, both sides have the opportunity to present their points of view and to discharge their emotions without spending a year and a half and hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting first. Once they have done that, with the help of a mediator, they can look at the situation more objectively and try to resolve it. Having a skilled mediator directing that process is often essential. Often times people do not want to try mediation because they object to the unnecessary expense of hiring a mediator. Most of the time they are wrong.
Most business people think of themselves as good negotiators, and most successful ones are.
However, resolving a lawsuit is not like most negotiations. In most negotiations, both sides are trying to work together to achieve an objective that is desirable. In a lawsuit, each side's objective is to beat the other side. It is difficult if not impossible for the parties or their lawyers to switch hats, going from wanting to beat the other side, to wanting to work together. For that reason the negotiation skills that normally apply to business situations do not necessarily apply in lawsuits.