MAY 28, 2019
INADR
    Connecting in Athens, Greece 2019
only to outright conflict on the field of battle in intensity and adverse consequences. Mediation, on the other hand, which actually predates the courtroom trial by several thousand years, goes back to the time of Confucius in China. Mediation in the Confucius view is considered " the socially proper way to settle disputes, used by the superior man." The courtroom trial is considered a "shameful last resort, the use of which signifies embarrassing failure to
“The courtroom trial is based on an adversarial principle that to resolve differences, the party must go to battle.”
settle the matter amicably."
Focusing more narrowly on the
 reasons for the success of mediation in the last decade, one is struck by the high cost of litigation. Pretrial Discovery in major litigation can cost n excessive 40 million dollars and even 80 million dollars as occurred in one case involving Microsoft Corporation. One federal judge stated:" while we have created the fairest system in the world for resolving civil disputes, it is so expensive that very few people in America can afford to use it. The court system serves the rich, those with insurance and those who can shift the cost of litigation to the rich and those with insurance. I cannot personally afford to use the system that I treasure. However, even more trenchant is the discomfiture and pain it causes parties and advocates alike. One judge of high academic acclaim, judge Learned Hand said, "I must say that, as a litigant, I should dread a lawsuit beyond almost anything else in life short of
sickness and death."
Although mediation is a significant factor today in resolving disputes, few persons outside the legal profession have an understandingofwhatitis. Whatquestionsdoyouhave about mediation? Email me and we can talk about it!
!4