Cecilia Morgan, an experienced mediator in Texas, polled 249 mediators to find out why, in their opinion, mediations fail. Here, in reverse order, is what they said (read the full article on Why Mediations Fail):
| 13. | Third-party interference. |
| 12. | Lack of money to pay. |
| 11. | Parties that want to go to court to tell their story. |
| 10. | Miscellaneous |
| 9. | Miscommunications that anger the other party. |
| 8. | Lack of authority to settle. |
| 7. | Mediating at the wrong time (too early or too late) in a case. |
| 6. | Poor tactics by the mediator. |
| 5. | Bad faith, meaning parties that attend a mediation with no intent to settle. |
| 4. | Lawyers who have an agenda other than settling. |
| 3. | Unrealistic expectations. |
| 2. | Lack of preparation by a party and/or their lawyer. |
| 1. | Emotions/ego. |