Other than required negotiation, the most commonly used ADR method is mediation. A lawyer may be involved either as the non-partisan neutral or as a partisan representative. The goal is to settle the dispute with attention to the identified legal rights of the parties. Interest-based mediation is more freewheeling with less attention given to the individual rights of each party, but with the focus on the parties' interests or compelling issues of the dispute.
Therapeutic mediation focuses more on the problem-solving skills of the parties involved.
The mediator may emphasize the emotional dimensions of the dispute. Often, the parties discuss ways of handling similar conflicts in the future. Within each of these broad types, a variety of styles of practice exists. Most disputes submitted to mediation are resolved. Sometimes, the dispute cannot be settled because pertinent facts are unknown.