Why Order Parties to Mediate?

I am writing this post to pose a relatively simple question to my friends and colleagues in the ADR community: If alternative dispute resolution is as beneficial as we claim, is their any good reason to force parties to mediate? If mediation is as beneficial as we claim, parties should want to mediate.
Parties make [...]

Experiences with Domestic Relations Arbitration

Cobb Mediation, LLC’s General Manager Barry Edwards’ Article on Comprehensive Arbitration of Domestic Relations Cases in Georgia recently appeared in the the Georgia Bar Journal.
This article shed light on domestic relations arbitration practice, which was recently authorized by the Georgia Legislature. It is a new field and there have been very few appellate opinions [...]

If the Parties Can’t Agree, How Can a Mediator Help?

“We just can’t agree. Mediation would be pointless.”
“We should be able to work this out on our own. We don’t need to mediate.”
These are pretty common statements that parties involved in a dispute make about mediation. Many disputes arise between sophisticated, intelligent people who are completely capable of negotiating directly with one another. [...]