Originally from:

AAA Handbook on Mediation - Third Edition

MEDIATION HYPE AND HYPERBOLE: HOW MUCH SHOULD WE BELIEVE?


Mark R. Sherman

I. Introduction


The mediation process is an indispensable device in the “tool kit” of many dispute resolution professionals. Early in the last decade, as mediation became an institutionalized step in a diverse array of dispute resolution systems, mediators and disputants alike were generous, even effusive, in their claims about its positive attributes.  Whether viewed as pure “hype,” or as “hyperbole,” some of these claims have fallen conspicuously short of reality. In other fields besides the author’s “home turf” of employment disputes, much of the naive enthusiasm surrounding the mediation process has also begun to wane. In many quarters, the process has ceased to be viewed as a panacea and is, instead, seen with a combination of realism, cynicism and even contempt. Some people may feel that they obtained sub-optimal outcomes from the process in the past. Others in the market for an adjudicated outcome may view mediation as little more than a toll booth on the road to litigation. Yet others may be disappointed that mediation does not always live up to all the claims its proponents have made for it. In other words, they may feel confused or misled by the hype and hyperbole surrounding mediation.