Why Mediate a Dispute?

Mediation is a dispute resolution process, which offers:

A forum that is convenient as to time, location, comfort, and the preparation schedules of each party and their counsel.
Confidentiality in the negotiation process and privacy of the documents used to attain the result. This contrasts with litigation, in which all records not specifically protected by court rule or order are being scanned to be placed in the public record and the Internet every day.
A process that is substantially less expensive, as there is no need for full discovery that would primarily benefit counsel in the event of an adverse claim; pre-trial memoranda to help the judge; pre-trial case conferences which absorb the time of the parties and their counsel; hiring of expert witnesses to testify to what they could have left in their written reports; time lost due to trial date uncertainty and delays; key evidence being filtered through and restricted by the cumbersome Rules of Evidence; and the necessity of post-trial motions and presentation hearings.
Finality of result, as there is no review, revision, or appeal from an order reached by agreement, particularly since the parties are adults and are represented by legal counsel. After settlement, the parties are then free to move on with their lives.