Choose a mediator if you want help negotiating an outcome that the parties themselves control. Choose an arbitrator if you need a neutral to decide the dispute and issue an award. Then compare candidates on impartiality, experience with disputes like yours, working style, preparation, and full cost. This guide is U.S.-oriented: rules and qualifications depend on your state, agreement, court program, and provider.
Decide what you need the process to do
Start with the outcome, not a candidate’s résumé. Are you trying to reach a negotiated settlement, obtain a decision, preserve a working relationship, address a technical issue, or resolve the matter by a particular date? Consider budget, negotiation history, safety concerns, power imbalances, emotional dynamics, and any non-monetary interests. These factors can affect whether mediation or arbitration—and what kind of neutral—fits. The Hawaii State Judiciary’s mediator-selection guide recommends weighing goals, context, timetable, budget, and the parties’ strengths and limits.
Mediation: the parties control whether to agree
A mediator helps parties communicate, identify interests, explore options, and negotiate. The mediator does not impose a resolution. A court or program may require attendance, but attendance does not mean the parties must settle. Mediation can suit parties who are willing to negotiate and want to retain control over the result.
Arbitration: a neutral decides
An arbitrator—or panel—hears arguments and evidence and issues an award. Whether the award is binding depends on the applicable agreement and rules. When arbitration is binding, the award is generally final, with court review or appeal limited compared with a trial. Confirm the terms before agreeing to arbitration or selecting an arbitrator; do not assume every arbitration is binding or that an unfavorable award can be appealed. The American Bar Association’s dispute-resolution overview describes arbitration and other processes, but no process is universally faster or cheaper: cost, duration, procedures, and rights vary with the dispute and governing terms.
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Check the rules before choosing a person
Read the dispute-resolution clause, court referral, program rules, or other controlling document. Identify who selects the neutral, any qualifications or appointment steps, whether the process is binding, which rules apply, and how challenges or conflicts are handled. If an agreement or rules require a provider, panel, or specific selection process, work within those requirements rather than treating the choice as entirely open.
Provider institutions such as the American Arbitration Association (AAA), JAMS, and CPR may offer administrative rules and panels; an ad hoc selection means the parties must coordinate rules and logistics themselves. These are examples, not endorsements. Compare the rules and fees that actually govern your matter. If the clause, award’s effect, appeal rights, or safety implications are unclear, consult a lawyer: neutrals do not represent either party or provide legal advice.
Compare candidates on the criteria that affect your case
Ask every finalist the same questions and assess what they have actually done, not just their title or credentials. Ask how many comparable matters they have handled, what their role was, and how they would manage the type of issues in your dispute without asking them to prejudge its merits.
Shared checks for mediators and arbitrators
- Impartiality: Ask about conflicts, prior relationships, disclosure practices, and how the candidate handles perceived bias. Both sides should be able to respect the neutral.
- Relevant competence: Match expertise to the dispute. Practical subject familiarity may help a mediator understand interests and reality-check positions. An arbitrator evaluates evidence and reaches findings, so deeper substantive knowledge may matter. The ABA practitioner guide to selecting neutrals discusses role-specific experience and fit.
- Temperament and communication: Ask how the candidate handles interruptions, strong personalities, disagreement, difficult news, and unequal participation. For a mediator, assess listening and ability to clarify issues; for an arbitrator, assess disciplined, even-handed hearing management.
- Preparation: Ask what briefs and documents the neutral expects, when they are due, how a large record is handled, and whether preparation time is billed separately. Practitioner Sara Khan Sigman recommends asking colleagues who have experienced the neutral’s work, not relying only on a résumé.
- References and reputation: Speak with lawyers or others who have appeared before the candidate, including someone whose side did not prevail. Ask about fairness, preparation, respectful treatment, and adherence to the process—not just popularity or outcomes.
- Availability and logistics: Confirm likely dates, remote or in-person format, location, expected timetable, and any travel requirements.
- Total cost: Request a written fee schedule covering hourly or daily rates, minimum session length, deposits, cancellation charges, administrative fees, travel, hearing days, and preparation time. Compare the full expected cost, not only the advertised rate.
Questions specific to a mediator
- Is your usual approach facilitative, evaluative, or a mix? A facilitative mediator helps parties develop their own options; an evaluative mediator may discuss case strengths, risks, or likely outcomes. Ask how the approach can adapt to the dispute and whether evaluation would help or undermine the process.
- How do you structure joint discussions and separate caucuses, and how do you ensure both sides are heard?
- How do you address power imbalances or safety concerns? What happens if a party is not comfortable negotiating in a joint session?
- How do you handle terms beyond a single payment, and what follow-up is available if the session does not resolve the matter?
- Will both parties have a meaningful role in choosing you? Where the agreement or program allows joint selection, the other side’s willingness to listen to the mediator matters too.
Questions specific to an arbitrator
- How do you handle evidence, witness credibility, contract interpretation, damages, discovery, motion practice, and deadlines?
- How do you manage discovery disputes and hearing time, and what submissions do you expect before the hearing?
- Will the award be reasoned or more concise? A reasoned award can help parties understand how the decision was reached, but it is not universally required.
- Does the clause or provider rule call for one arbitrator or a panel? What rules govern appointment, challenges, and the award’s effect?
The Illinois State Bar Association’s ADR guide also recommends checking an arbitrator’s reputation, training, experience, expertise, certifications, and impartiality. Use those as questions to investigate, not as a guarantee of quality.
Understand qualifications in your jurisdiction
There is no single credential that proves a mediator is the right fit. Requirements and roster standards vary by state, program, and provider. The Hawaii Judiciary guide says there is no universal educational or job-experience profile shown to predict mediator competence; relevant skills include neutrality, listening, communication, and clarifying issues. The State Bar of Arizona consumer guidance describes no statewide certification prerequisite in Arizona while recommending that consumers check experience or use trained professional organizations. That is an Arizona example, not a nationwide rule.
Arbitrators are often lawyers, but parties may also select someone with the ability to understand the terminology or trade practices involved. Provider or program rules may impose their own criteria or training requirements. Verify current law, contract terms, program rules, and provider roster requirements for the actual dispute and location; do not treat a law degree, former judicial role, certificate, or long résumé as automatic proof of fit.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use a consistent shortlist and interview process
- Read the controlling document. Check the dispute clause, court referral, or program rules for selection authority, qualifications, appointment steps, governing rules, and binding effect.
- Write down your needs. List the result you want, legal or technical issues, relationship and safety concerns, schedule, and budget.
- Build a joint shortlist where possible. Ask the other party, counsel, or an appropriate local court or bar program for names. If selection is joint, include candidates both parties can assess.
- Request comparable information. Ask finalists for biographies, training, experience with similar cases, process descriptions, references, conflicts disclosures, fee schedules, and availability. For arbitrators, request sample written work when relevant and available.
- Interview each finalist consistently. Use the same questions and ask how the candidate would approach this type of dispute, not who should win it.
- Compare and record the choice. Weigh competence, impartiality, style, preparation, trust, and total cost. Document why the candidate was selected and any agreed process terms.
- Confirm the appointment terms. Before proceeding, verify current rules, payment and cancellation terms, confidentiality provisions, and any legal advice needed to understand the consequences.
Make the decision based on fit, not prestige
The best candidate is the one whose role-specific skill, impartiality, process, availability, and cost fit the dispute and whose approach both sides can accept. As Sara Khan Sigman, an attorney who writes on litigation and dispute resolution, put it in the ABA’s March–April 2026 article Selecting Arbitrators and Mediators: A Guide for Small Firm Litigators: “The most important lesson I’ve learned is not to rely solely on résumés. Talk to colleagues. Ask pointed questions. Match the neutral not only to the case, but to the moment the case is in.” This is practitioner advice, not a legal rule or a measured finding.
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