As a neutral third party, the mediator represents neither party. This may be clearer in the mediator's role of dispute resolver and case manager than it is in preventive mediation. The new Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators promulgated by the ABA, American Arbitration Association, and Society for Professionals of Dispute Resolution encourages all parties in a mediation to consult independent counsel. In many mediations, counsel attend sessions with their clients and participate at the mediation table. Since over 90 percent of cases settle, the issue isn't whether it will settle but when, how, and with what transaction costs.
Many jurisdictions now have mandatory mediation on both parenting and economic issues.
In litigation horror stories, lawyers are often the victims, left with lost stomach lining, unsatisfied clients, and unpaid receivables. A major, but less-known function of mediators is to provide consensual case management that can impose some structure on the chaos and still give lawyers the freedom of traditional advocacy that judicial case management can take away. Some mediators may overcharge, and others may not produce a process or a result that is worth the expenditure. However, even with the use of a mediator and independent consulting lawyers, the cost of a mediated divorce may actually be far lower than a case directly negotiated between two adversarial lawyers. It is certainly lower than litigated divorces.