the midst of a dispute with someone, and you’d like to resolve it outside of court.

Maybe you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse can’t agree on how to divide your marital property. Perhaps you and your business partner don’t see eye to eye about the future direction of your company.

In these situations—and for countless other types of disagreements, large and small—mediation may be your best option. Mediation is cheaper, quicker, and much less complicated than going to court. And because mediating parties work together to find a solution to their problem, mediation can often help rebuild strained relationships and lay the groundwork for more positive interactions in the future. This can be especially important in situations that require ongoing communication between the parties, as might be the case when parents share custody of their children, partners own a business together, or neighbors use a common driveway.

This chapter will introduce you to mediation as a tool for resolving disputes. Here, we explain what mediation is, how it works, and what you can expect when you mediate a dispute. We also explain how mediation differs from other methods of resolving disputes. Armed with this basic information, you can then move on to the details of deciding whether to mediate, choosing a mediator, and preparing for the media­tion, covered in subsequent chapters.

This overview chapter is designed for the reader who is relatively new to mediation. Because most of the topics mentioned here are discussed

in greater depth later in the book, readers who are already familiar with mediation may wish to skip or skim this material.

A.