TailoredMediation
WHAT IS TAILORED MEDIATION

A comparison for counsel

AI & Tech Dispute
Mediation vs.
Standard Mediation.

When the technology is the dispute, the standard mediation template often stalls. Below, tailored mediation and standard mediation compared axis by axis — process, neutral, evidence, confidentiality, timeline, cost, and outcome.

Tailored vs. standard mediation, axis by axis
Axis Standard mediation Tailored mediation
Process design Template: opening session → caucuses → settlement architecture → term sheet. Same shape regardless of matter type. Custom-fit: protocol designed around the dispute's actual structure. Some matters use the standard rhythm; others require forensic phases, code review, or panel constitution.
Neutral profile Process neutral, often a retired generalist judge. Subject-matter authority furnished by the parties' experts. Technical neutral with subject-matter fluency. Reads source code, model weights, and audit logs directly. Routinely paired with a process neutral as co-mediator.
Pre-session work Position briefs from each side. Mediator reviews, identifies issues, sets agenda. Position briefs plus technical briefings, evidence-designation orders, and (where called for) protocols for forensic preservation. Often a tiered protective order is in place before first session.
Evidence handling Position-based; parties present what they choose. Mediator does not adjudicate disputed facts. Where the dispute turns on a verifiable fact, the neutral may invoke a forensic component to resolve it on the spot — file existence, log integrity, model-output reproducibility.
Confidentiality Standard mediation confidentiality (Cal. Evid. Code § 1119, FRCP-style protective frameworks). Tiered protective order distinguishes weights, training data, source code, prompts, outputs, and party-confidential business material into separate access tiers.
Typical timeline 14–60 days from retention to first session. Half-day to two-day sessions are typical. 14–60 days for mediation alone. Where forensic work or special-master protocol is part of the engagement, sessions may extend or pause for evidence development.
Co-mediation Single neutral, occasionally panel. Frequently a technical-neutral / process-neutral pair (e.g. Daniel + a retired judge). Splits subject-matter authority from procedural craft.
Cost driver Sessions and preparation hours. Typically capped per matter. Sessions, technical preparation, forensic infrastructure where invoked. Scoped per matter; often comparable to or less than the cost of litigating the technical question to the same answer.
Outcome artifact Term sheet executed by parties. Mediator may issue a written summary if asked. Term sheet plus, where relevant, a written technical finding the parties have agreed in advance to treat as authoritative on the narrow question put to the neutral.
Best fit Matters where the dispute is fundamentally about money, fault, or relationship; technical complexity is incidental. Matters where the dispute turns on technology — AI behavior, software defect, forensic chain of custody, smart-contract execution, breach causation. Where the technology IS the dispute.

Decision Aid

Which one fits your matter?

CHOOSE STANDARD IF

  • The dispute is principally about damages, fault, or relationship
  • Technical issues, if any, are uncontested or peripheral
  • A retired generalist judge can mediate the matter end-to-end
  • Parties prefer the standard JAMS, AAA, or party-stipulated framework
  • Discovery has not surfaced any technical question requiring fact-finding

CHOOSE TAILORED IF

  • The dispute turns on a verifiable technical fact
  • Source code, model weights, or proprietary algorithms are at issue
  • Standard mediation has stalled on a technical disagreement
  • Cross-border, TB-scale, or forensic-protocol design is required
  • A tiered protective order is needed for sensitive technical material
  • A defensible technical finding is part of the desired outcome

Still uncertain which fits?

The intake form will route you. Eight questions; the suggested process — and the matched neutral — are presented at the end.

Begin a matter