How to Stop Fighting Step #6 Deal Constructively with Irreconcilable Differences

When Mediation is Most Helpful:

Mediation is most useful in disputes where the parties feel that direct negotiation is not enough, but...

• They wish to maintain control over the process and the ultimate decision;
• They believe that the dispute can be resolved through discussion;
• They are willing and able to compromise;
• They are concerned about a possible widening of the dispute if it becomes public; and especially,
• There is a continuing relationship (or the possibility of a continuing relationship) which might be lost if an openly contentious forum, such as arbitration or litigation, were to be used.

Arbitration is most useful where:

• The parties either cannot or wish not to resolve the dispute through negotiation;
• The parties are not willing to compromise; and
• The parties need a process that is private, relatively quick and economical (compared to a trial), and offers finality.

Since it is an adversarial process, it should be noted that arbitration is not as good at preserving relationships as is mediation.

Also, although the parties may have some input into the process, they do not control the decision in arbitration, as they do in mediation.