Disputants sometimes find that after the cathartic experience of expressing interests, they are able to address the legal or monetary issues more easily. Secondly, the parties have the opportunity to play a substantive role in shaping the solution ultimately achieved. The parties can look at all possible options, not only ones that a court or arbitrator could impose. Parties may come up with face-saving resolutions to the dispute that both sides can live with comfortably. Thirdly, because the parties have control of the resolution that is achieved and must agree to it, the parties have a stake in abiding by the agreement to ensure that it works.
Solutions achieved in mediations are therefore more likely to be honoured by the parties.
Next, mediation can be accomplished quickly. Mediations in civil cases rarely last longer than one day, and often can be completed in less than half a day. There is usually no need for production of documents, discovery, or any other court process prior to mediation. Also, the mediation can be conducted in a non-adversarial and informal environment, in which the mediator attempts to make the parties feel comfortable with the process, so that the parties can concentrate their efforts on resolving outstanding issues. Further, interest-based mediation, in stark contrast to litigation and arbitration, strives to improve or at least not to damage the relationship between the parties after the dispute is resolved.