Frequently asked questions about mediation.

Yes. Government entities may mediate contract, employment, regulatory, land-use, tort, and other disputes when authorized. Government participants may need additional internal approval before final settlement.

Sometimes. A support person may help a participant feel comfortable, but additional people can also affect confidentiality and negotiations. Their attendance should be discussed with the mediator and, where required, agreed to by the other participants.

Usually not merely because you later regret the bargain. Once a settlement is enforceable, ordinary contract principles apply. A party seeking to set it aside may need to prove a recognized ground such as fraud, duress, mistake, lack of authority, illegality, or failure to satisfy a required formality.

Yes. Insurers frequently participate in personal-injury, property, professional-liability, construction, and other insured disputes. A claims representative may attend and contribute to settlement decisions.

Yes. Mediation can address rent, repairs, security deposits, evictions, lease interpretation, purchase agreements, boundary disputes, condominium issues, and commercial real-estate conflicts. Settlement may include payment plans, repairs, move-out dates, lease modifications, or transfers.

Yes. Video mediation is now common. Remote mediation can reduce travel, simplify scheduling, and allow parties, attorneys, insurers, and experts in different locations to participate. The mediator can conduct joint sessions and private virtual caucuses much as in an in-person mediation.

Usually recording is discouraged or prohibited because candid settlement discussions depend on privacy and because recordings may conflict with confidentiality rules. Participants should never assume they may audio- or video-record a mediation without express permission.

Yes, when appropriate and permitted. A nonparty may have information, settlement authority, a lien, insurance responsibility, family influence, or another interest necessary to a complete resolution.

Yes. Most civil cases can be mediated while litigation is pending. The parties may agree to mediate voluntarily or the court may order or refer the case. Mediation often occurs after enough discovery has been completed for both sides to evaluate liability, damages, and litigation risk.

Yes. Pre-suit mediation can allow parties to resolve a dispute before incurring substantial litigation expense. It is common in commercial, employment, construction, insurance, partnership, healthcare, and family-related matters. Contracts sometimes require mediation before either party may sue or demand arbitration.

Yes. Because mediation emphasizes negotiated solutions rather than a winner-and-loser judgment, it can help parties continue working, doing business, co-parenting, or interacting after the immediate dispute ends. The process can also address communication protocols and future conduct.

Yes. Mediation is widely used for contract disputes, partnership and shareholder conflicts, vendor problems, financing disputes, intellectual-property issues, employment claims, and commercial real estate. It can produce solutions a court might not order, including revised contracts, payment schedules, licensing arrangements, confidentiality, or continuing business relationships.

Often yes. Because settlement is based on agreement, parties may create practical terms beyond a court's normal remedial authority, such as revised contracts, future business arrangements, apologies, references, payment schedules, confidentiality, licensing, or agreed procedures for future disputes.

Sometimes. Whether a child or teenager participates depends on the type of dispute, age, maturity, safety, and the mediator's approach. In family matters, a mediator may obtain information about a child's interests without placing the child in the middle of the parents' conflict.

Yes. Multiparty mediation is common in construction, commercial, insurance, environmental, probate, and complex tort cases. The mediator may use separate caucuses, grouped sessions, and carefully structured proposal exchanges to manage different interests.