Each legal dispute is made up of two "cases": the "emotional case" and the "legal case," and they are usually conflated, resulting in impasse. Most lawyers tend to focus exclusively on the legal case, leaving the unaddressed emotional issues to wreak havoc with meaningful problem-solving.

Mediators are expected to play the role of “Devil’s advocate,” questioning the strength or viability of the various legal arguments being asserted by parties and/or their counsel. In this context, mediators may dive deeply into the law applicable to the underlying dispute (and defenses).The parties may provide sophisticated though conflicting analysis of that law in the mediation briefing and during the session. But what about the law applicable to the mediation itself?