When Walking Out Isn't the End of the Mediation

Not too long ago, I mediated a case for the second time. The first session, nearly a year earlier, ended where many do: the parties were miles apart, entrenched, and unconvinced settlement was possible.

Fast forward to round two. Trial was a month away. The defendant had new counsel and was exceptionally well prepared to try the case. More importantly, both sides arrived newly committed to resolving it.

As we inched toward settlement, emotions took over. The plaintiff abruptly stood up and walked out of the mediation.

At that moment, it would have been easy, and entirely defensible, to call it. Many mediations end exactly there.

Instead, plaintiff’s counsel stayed. I brought counsel together and shifted the focus to non-monetary terms, the areas where agreement felt possible. Slowly, methodically, consensus began to form. Trust rebuilt. Momentum returned.

Then the conversation drifted, almost inevitably, back to money. It looked like a dead end.

But something different happened. With trial looming and positions clarified, counsel spoke candidly with one another. Not posturing. Not signaling. Just honest discussion about risk, reality, and what it would take to bring the plaintiff back to the table.

While those conversations unfolded, defense counsel quietly worked on a short-form agreement.

That was the turning point.

The logjam broke. The plaintiff returned. The case settled. The agreement was signed.

Had the mediation ended when the plaintiff walked out, this case would be in trial right now.

The lesson was a powerful one. Mediation does not end when emotions flare or someone leaves the room. Often, that is when the real work begins.

Keep them talking. Deals are made in the space between impasse and patience.