Also, please check the rules in your jurisdiction. Where I live, mediation is mandatory but it only counts if you mediate after a case has been filed. If no proceeding has been commenced, your mediation may not count for purposes of using it as a prerequisite to going to trial. However, parties are free to mediate at any time, and if you settle it won't matter that a lawsuit hasn't commenced. Just something to ask about before you go to the expense of mediation. Otherwise, a court could order you to mediate again.
