Mediation grows as firms see the benefit of finding common ground

IN A mediation a few months back, those involved – some lay people, a growing business and a professional adviser – revealed they had previously spent more than three years in dispute and incurred legal and other costs running well into six figures, an amount that may have significantly outweighed what was at issue between them.

They were deeply frustrated. "If only we could have talked like this two years ago," they said. Fortunately, in just two days of talking, they worked out a solution.

Of course, this is anecdotal evidence, but such tales are not unfamiliar as the...