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Mediation generally works the best when all parties are willing.  The voluntary nature of mediation is one of the process's hallmarks.  However, sometimes parties end up in mediation, because a judge told them to go.  When volunteer mediating in the Cook County Courts I have seen participants still put real effort into the process and walk away with a self-determined agreement.  Those cases are...

I recently received a question asking how one avoids a "pointless mediation" when the other side makes an "obscene demand," but the court has ordered mediation.  As a form of conflict resolution, mediation can be productive even with difficult parties.  The first thing I would suggest is to look at the mediation as an opportunity to find out more about what the other side is thinking. 

In media...