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Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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In a commercial dispute, a mediator might assume that the quality of the interaction between opposing sides is beside the point. We might think that the relationship is fundamentally adversarial, that it will not change, and that the best outcome of mediation will be a settlement that both sides are unhappy with.

Even problem-solving or facilitative mediators generally don’t expect the parties to feel better about the situation other than the relief that might come from ending litigation. Even though a win-win solution may benefit both sides, we may predict that the mutual sense of having been wronged is unlikely to shift.

I’ve found that, on the contrary, the nature of the interaction is nearly always at the core of the conflict, that incremental changes in it can be very important to parties, and that such changes can be the key to finding resolution.