Mediation is the fastest way to close one — but only when the timing, the people and the goal line up. This console checks whether they do for you, right now, and shows you exactly what a mediation day looks like before you commit to one.
Mediation is voluntary at both ends. The other side has to agree to the process and to the mediator. Without that there is nothing to prepare for, however strong the rest of your case is.
Disputes have a window. Too early and nobody has moved; too late and the money has already gone to the fight.
A room without the decision-maker in it cannot produce a decision, however good the day is.
If you need a public ruling, mediation cannot give you one. That is a real answer, not a failure.
This is a beta. It is being tested in the open, so some wording and scoring will change over the coming weeks. If something reads wrong, misses your situation, or gets your case badly out of shape, it is worth telling whoever pointed you here.
Before you start: answer as things are today, not as you wish they were. A low score is useful — it names what to fix before you spend money on a mediation day.
A mediator has no power to decide anything. They hold the structure, carry offers and reality between two rooms, and keep both sides in the conversation past the point where they would normally walk out. Everything below is what actually happens, in order. Most mediations run as a single day, but complex, multi-party or family matters often take several sessions across weeks — the phases stay the same.
Four ways this dispute can end. The difference that matters most is the first row: who gets to decide.
| Mediation | Direct talks | Arbitration | Court | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | You and them — nobody else can impose an outcome | You and them | The arbitrator | The judge |
| Typical time | One day, booked in weeks | Open-ended | Months | One to three years |
| Typical cost | Shared mediator fee plus a day of advisers | Lowest | High | Highest, and hard to predict |
| Is it private | Yes — confidential and without prejudice | Yes | Usually | Mostly public |
| What you can agree | Anything lawful: apology, reference, phased payment, future terms | Anything lawful | Only what the clause allows | Only remedies the law provides |
| Binding | Once signed, yes | Once signed, yes | Yes, award | Yes, judgment |
| Appeal | Not applicable — you agreed it | Not applicable | Very limited | Possible, and slow |
| Effect on the relationship | Can survive it, sometimes improves | Depends | Strained | Usually over |
| Sets a precedent | No | No | No | Yes — the only option that does |
| Risk of losing outright | None — no agreement means nothing changes | None | Real | Real |
Read the last two rows together. Mediation is the only route where you cannot lose — and the only one that will never tell the world you were right. Which of those matters more is the whole decision.