Neutral Robert G. Marasco likes to assign homework before his mediations. 

“I want the parties to think about what it is they hope to get out of the process, and I want them actually thinking about resolution options,” Marasco said. “I don’t want them coming in and saying, ‘I want this number, and that’s all I’ll take.’”

Marasco encourages this approach during meetings beforehand with the parties and their attorneys.

“I prompt them to think about things in advance, so then on the day of the mediation, I start with, ‘OK, what are some things that you’ve come up with already?’” Marasco explained. “And that automatically broadens the scope of options for us to explore that day and gives me a better chance of finding overlap between the two sides.”

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