22 July 2026
Mediation or court? How we decide
Mediation settles most commercial disputes in a day. Court takes a year. We explain how we choose, and when the answer is both.
Clients often arrive wanting their day in court. Some should have it. Most are better served by a room, a mediator and a deal by six o'clock. This is how we decide.
When mediation wins
The relationship matters, the facts are messy, or the sums do not justify a year of costs. A private settlement you helped write usually holds better than a judgment.
When court is right
The other side will not engage, an urgent order is needed, or the point of principle matters more than the money. Then we prepare properly and go.
Usually it is both
Issuing a claim is often what brings the other side to mediation. We run the two in parallel and keep a written walk-away number on the file from the start.
Notes from the partners
More from the partners
Short notes on what a dispute actually involves, written for the people in them.
