When in a case is mediation most likely to succeed?

Timing can significantly affect whether a mediation succeeds. Mediation can be productive early, before the parties have spent heavily on discovery and hardened their positions, and an early resolution saves the most in cost and disruption. But some cases may not not ready to settle until the parties have exchanged enough information to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their positions realistically.   I like to call this the “critical mass” of information - when each side has enough information to evaluate the case candidly but before the enormous expense of full discovery and trial preparation has been incurred. An experienced mediator can help the parties agree on information exchanges and, through advance review of submissions and pre-mediation conferences, convene the mediation when the conditions for resolution are as favorable as possible.