A comparison of mediation and litigation methods42
| Mediation | Litigation |
| Consensual | Adversarial |
| Inexpensive | Costly |
| Confidential | Part of public record |
| Formulation of mutually agreed solution between conflicting parties | Decisions made by external party (judge) |
| Time-scale determined by conflicting parties | Time-consuming |
| Less regulated | Subject to formal review |
| A mutually agreed solution may not be made | Necessarily leads to resolution |