Mediation = Control Originally Posted on MediationWorks.

Often, especially in legal matters, parties in conflict see taking their case to mediation as signifying weakness or fear.  Since lawsuits are adversarial, this perception is understandable.  In contentious cases, with difficult adversaries, showing weakness can be problematic and disadvantageous.  There are other factors to consider when deciding to take a case to a trial or final hearing.

What parties sometimes fail to recognize is that even though taking their case to a judge or jury may convey strength and conviction, it also requires yielding control of the outcome of the dispute to a third-party who has their own agenda, interests, and beliefs.    In cases like personal injury and other tort claims, in which one party either wins or loses, allowing another to decide the fate of their case is a high risk proposition.  Parties should acknowledge the loss of control that accompanies taking a case to court and be willing to accept the associated risks.