Ed Ahrens, Jr., Esq. writes monthly thought provoking Editorials on mediation. These views are Ed's and do not necessarily reflect those of Florida Mediation Group.

Whoa! A mediator telling me not to mediate? Is the apocalypse near? Have the planets realligned?

One out of three is not bad. The answer to the first question is Yes. But, to be fair, you have to do something in the place of mediation.

Mediators’ goal, their professional purpose in life, is to help litigants resolve their differences and avoid the perilous path of a trial, where stress, cost and unpredictability abound.

As with all mediators, I have had mediations scheduled, then cancelled, sometimes on very short notice. The reason for many, if not most, of these cancellations is that the case was settled. And therein lies the theme of this Ed’sitorial.

I’m not a hypocrite. I enjoy, like any other professional, the income flow resulting from the satisfying work I do. But I enjoy even more hearing that parties have gotten together, negotiated their differences and concluded their litigation in an amicable manner. That’s our business, folks, to see you kiss and make up, with or without our assistance.

So, if the cost and inconvenience of mediation prompts you to settle your claim or the claim against you, good! Of course, I expect the courtesy of at least a twenty-four hour notice of cancellation, but, if the latter occurs because of a settlement, I applaud both sides.

There will be numerous cases where a neutral facilitator will be essential to reach a settlement, or at least to lay the groundwork for one, where the controlled environment of the mediation process will carry the day—and we mediators are here to help you in such cases.

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