Mediation is a forum in which an impartial person, the mediator, facilitates communication between parties to promote reconciliation, settlement, or understanding among them. A mediator may not impose his own judgment on the issues over that of the parties. In mediation, the differing positions of two sides in a dispute are presented through the mediator. If all persons needed to make decisions attend the mediation, the process can be extremely effective in completely resolving disputes. Many of the divorce and conservatorship cases handled by Mr. Kazen are ultimately resolved in mediation. It is not uncommon for a court to require parties to attempt to resolve their dispute in mediation prior to proceeding on to trial. Statistics show that most of the cases that attempt mediation are successfully settled in mediation. Settlement of a case in mediation avoids the uncertainty that can result from a trial on the merits. Failing to settle a case in mediation typically does not change the positional postures the parties had before attempting mediation. Accordingly, there is very little “down-side” potential in attempting mediation, while there is tremendous “up-side” potential.