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is essential to retain an excellent mediator who will be accepted by the main litigationstakeholders, and who has unquestioned credibility with plaintiffs, defendants andinsurance professionals. Since all good mediators are busy, it is essential to vetmediators and secure their availability early.For larger cases especially, mediators should be proactive. In complex cases,“managed mediation” is becoming more common. In this approach, parties meetseparately, request documents, exchange specific information in particular formats, andthen hold multi-day settlement conferences.Good mediators also understandinsurance coverage issues, and can talk to claims professionals on their level.In an incredibly complicated construction case involving a high-profile public projectmediated in late 2013, the parties agreed to an out-of-state mediator who specialized indesign, construction and insurance coverage disputes. The mediator called several inpersonmeetings with the main parties and their legal teams, toured the site tounderstand the design and construction issues, requested shorter mediation letters,summaries and bullet-point research memoranda, and eventually scheduled seven fulldays of discussions occurring over a four-month period. The mediation efforts weretime-consuming and complex for all involved, and many parties complained. Ultimately,the efforts were beneficial and caused all the attorneys, parties, and insurers to maintainfocus on resolving the case, even during periods of frenetic litigation activity.Even if the case is ultimately headed for trial, there is little to lose by mediating early.