Mediation has become widely used today with very good reason. Litigation is often a fate that inflicts expense, agony and steals valuable time and energy. The high cost and long delays associated with courts often make litigation an impractical method for resolving disputes. Not to mention that the increasing number of lawsuits filed each year is indicative of the unwillingness or inability of parties and their attorneys to effectively utilize negotiation to resolve disputes. It is not uncommon for attorney's fees, expert witness fees, jury fees, court reporter fees and other related costs to exceed the amount of the dispute. Often, parties find that they have spent more money to litigate than the cost of settling the matter.

Mediation is typically much less expensive than litigation. It generally requires payment of filing fees, fees for the service of documents, court fees and advocate fees. Mediation is also not resolved until there is an agreement that both parties accept. In litigation, a judge (who you do not know) will decide for you how your dispute will be resolved. Additionally, in hearings, attorneys and expert witnesses do most of the talking. Thus, mediation offers you greater control over the outcome. It seems more likely that parties empowered to decide for themselves whether and how they would like to resolve a situation would be much more agreeable to adhere to the terms of an agreement they have entered. This is especially true when compared to judicially imposed resolutions forced upon them.

For the sake of argument, lets say that you have a legally valid claim and you've been through the entire litigation process to trial and won! You now have a piece of paper called a "judgment." This still does not pay you for any monies owed, return your property to you, etc. What if the defendant chooses not to pay? You will then have to hire an attorney to represent you in yet another lawsuit to collect on the judgment. This is the very reason that so many lawsuits settle before judgment. Why wouldn't you choose mediation that is designed to reach settlement in the first place? It is also very common that disputing parties decide halfway through the case that they really don't want a judge to decide the case for them. In mediation, parties can decide what kind of solution they want from a process that's designed from the start to reach that agreement.

Even if a case does not resolve in mediation, the experience may prove invaluable because the information that is gained during negotiations may compel the parties to take a new approach to the case. Mediation affords an attorney the unique opportunity to evaluate an opponent's style and the issues an opponent will be emphasizing at trial. It will also allow the attorney to assess how well an opponent responds to the weaknesses in a case. This is often the same kind of information attorneys seek through depositions and carefully planned discovery requests.