More people are learning to MEDIATE rather than LITIGATE. Why? It's much faster and cheaper. In this age of budget cuts, courtrooms are overloaded with complex cases that judges simply do not have time to consider. So, rather than spend tens of thousands of dollars to pursue lawsuits that can drag on for years, you can hire a mediator to help resolve your issues, usually in a few weeks, for a fraction of the cost.

Here's the best part: Instead of relying on a judge to issue a final decision that will make everyone sad and poorer, disputants or adversaries can count on a mediator to help them reach an amicable solution and agreement OF THEIR OWN MAKING, which guarantees that it will be much easier for everyone to live with.

Mediation is ideal for those caught in any conflict or disagreement -- whether it's a dispute between landlord/tenant, neighbor/neighbor, merchant/consumer, employer/employee, driver/driver, or a disagreement over a contract. Issues can pertain to all fields, from real estate and insurance to personal injury and the entertainment industry.

It's not that lawyers are "bad," it's just that they are trained to do their client's bidding, and are being paid top dollar to "come out on top" and prevail at all costs. They are not schooled or professionally inclined to pursue win/win strategies, or solutions that are in the collective best interest. Instead, their reputations rise or fall depending on how effectively they battle the opposing party into submission, and declare victory.

Mediators take a different approach. They are trained and conditioned to seek peaceful forward-looking solutions that everyone can live with. They know that the value of healing far exceeds the price of protracted war and the longterm suffering that results from the pursuit of a one-sided "victory."