Should You Mediate Yet?

Mediation works best when everyone at the table has enough information, the authority to act, and the willingness to weigh a genuine risk-benefit analysis rather than simply argue a position. This checklist helps you gauge whether a case has reached that point⁠—⁠and what to shore up before it has.

Parties are often not ready to mediate because they lack the information to evaluate the case realistically⁠—⁠before key documents have been exchanged or damages analyzed. Readiness also suffers when a party is still invested in proving they were right rather than exploring resolution, which is especially common in employment disputes involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wrongful termination.

Other gaps are structural: decision-makers with settlement authority who have not yet been brought into the process, or expectations about liability, damages, and litigation risk that have not yet met reality. Timing matters too⁠—⁠a case often becomes mediable only after a significant milestone, a key ruling, or enough time for emotions to cool and positions to turn practical.

Reading Your Result

A high reading suggests the case is in a posture where mediation tends to resolve; a low one usually points to timing rather than a dead end. Most gaps⁠—⁠a key document still outstanding, a carrier not yet engaged, a damages model still in progress⁠—⁠are a matter of sequence, and they are often quicker to close than they look.

If several boxes stayed empty, that is useful information in itself: it shows what to line up before a session so the day is spent negotiating rather than discovering. A brief call can help you decide whether to mediate now or set a date for the moment the case is ready.