California has updated its rules of court. The mediation and arbitration rules have changed. Here's a particularly interesting one:
Rule 1620.3. Voluntary participation and self-determination
A mediator must conduct the mediation in a manner that supports the principles of voluntary participation and self-determination by the parties. For this purpose a mediator must:
(a) Inform the parties, at or before the outset of the first mediation session, that any resolution of the dispute in mediation requires a voluntary agreement of the parties;
(b) Respect the right of each participant to decide the extent of his or her participation in the mediation, including the right to withdraw from the mediation at any time; and
(c) Refrain from coercing any party to make a decision or to continue to participate in the mediation.
It makes you wonder what was going on that caused the court to issue a "no coercion" rule. The prior rule provided that the mediator was required to donate three hours and the mediation could only end earlier if the parties and the mediator agreed. Sometimes, the thought of sitting there for a while could jumpstart stalled proceedings, but I can't recall ever forcing anyone to stay or hearing of another mediator doing so.