Mediation: litigation is not inevitable

“We will see them in court.” Six words that almost always cost more than they are worth.

Mediation is not the soft option. It is the smarter conversation, the one that protects business interests, relationships and reputations in parallel.

Three lessons that experience keeps proving:

• the earlier you mediate, the more you save;
• positions divide, interests unlock;
• a workable settlement beats a perfect judgment.

Conflict is inevitable, litigation is not. Izzat-Begum B. Rajan has been teaching and practising mediation since 2005. A CEDR-certified trainer in mediation and negotiation, she also trains within the Aga Khan Development Network, working with parties on complex commercial, cross-border and emerging-technology disputes, including artificial intelligence, blockchain and Web3.