I’ve mediated countless cases, both as a lawyer and a client. What I’ve learned is that the best mediators are smart and know the merits of a dispute well enough to identify the one or two foundational questions on which all others depend. They are far more than mere messengers, shuttling offers back and forth while warning (as if the parties already didn’t know) that litigation is expensive and its results uncertain. They avoid the two cardinal sins of mediation—horse trading and baby splitting. And even when they cannot resolve a dispute, they ensure that the parties enjoy one of the most valuable forms of discovery known to trial lawyers—a candid and privileged interrogation of an adversary’s best arguments and evidence well before opening statements, when it’s often too late.