Client satisfaction is a major factor. Just as the Japanese auto makers virtually captured the US auto market because they built better products geared to consumer needs, the traditional adversarial family lawyer is facing a similar consumer revolution. Some of the benefits of mediation are discussed below. People are learning what lawyers have long realized - fewer than one out of ten cases are solved by a judge.
Settlement is much more common than trials.
Despite the prevalence of settlement, the court system and much lawyering are built around an adversarial mindset that permeates attitudes, habits, and institutional supports. Lawyers are increasingly working with their clients to keep control and not surrender decision making to a third person until all reasonable efforts to settle the matter have been exhausted. If the parties can settle a problem with one phone call, nothing more needs to be done. If the matter remains unresolved, perhaps a meeting over a cup of coffee will settle it. These steps may be taken with or without the guidance of a lawyer.