Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

What is it about mediation that is fast making it the alternative dispute resolution method of choice? For one thing, the resolution to the dispute is one to which the parties agree, rather than one that is imposed on them. If there is no agreement among the parties, there is no settlement. This makes the potential range of solutions to a dispute as broad or as narrow as the varied interests and the imagination of the disputants. Clearly, the skills of the mediator are vital to this process and are relied upon by the parties for the process to be of maximum benefit. Author Howard J. Aibel takes a look at how mediation provides “creative opportunities for resolution.”