Mediation is a key part of the civil litigation system in both state and federal courts, and is an integral dispute resolution tool for disputes involving federal agencies. The most common disputes that lead to mediation are those involving contracts, family law matters, and personal injury or employment disagreements. In a survey of U.S. business leaders, many recognized mediation’s advantages and preferred mediations in commercial transaction disagreements, even over other alternative dispute resolution methods. Specifically, the executives surveyed in the study believed that mediation preserves commercial relationships better than arbitration and that mediation was superior to arbitration in saving time and money.

Mediation can be an informal meeting that only lasts a couple hours, or can be a scheduled settlement conference that lasts an entire day. This meeting can be held at a neutral location, such as the mediator’s office. Mediation is voluntary to both parties and is nonbinding, meaning that the mediator cannot force either party to follow a certain course of action, or do something that either refuses to do. This distinguishes mediation from an arbitration, where the arbitrator, like a judge, can hand down a decision that binds the parties to follow a course of action.