Rhianna, the pop singer, sued her former accountants in 2012 formalpractice,which is negligence while practicing a profession.The songstress claimed the accounting firm, Berdon LLP of New York City, misadvised her on several matters, failed to audit royalty statements resulting in losses of millions of dollars, was late in submitting her tax returns leading to late fees, and missed opportunities for tax breaks.Additionally, she accused the firm of charging exorbitant fees including 23% of the gross revenues from her tours while she received only six percent.See:http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/07/05/Rihanna-sues-ex-accountants--says-she-lost-millions

The case is pending in federal court in Manhattan, NY, and has been scheduled formediation,a form ofalternative dispute resolution.ADR encompasses several methods for resolving legal claims to avoid going to court.ADR proceedings are faster and cheaper than court, and also private whereas courts are public. These attributes make ADR very popular.

For litigants to utilize ADR usually requires consent of both parties.Sometimes that consent is secured in a contract entered between the parties involving an employment relationship or sale of goods.Sometimes the consent results from a sobering realization of the costs and time commitment required to pursue a case to trial. In federal court, however, the judge can mandate that the parties participate in mediation regardless of the parties' wishes. This is so because mediation often results in a settlement which is highly valued as a means to help control large court caseloads and save the parties the expense, exposure and uncertainty of trial.

In mediation, a third party, called amediator,assists the litigants in reaching a resolution of their dispute.The mediator does this by suggesting alternatives, analyzing issues, questioning the parties about their assumptions and perceptions, conducting private caucuses with each side, and stimulating negotiations.The process of mediation usually requires several mediation sessions.

In Rhianna's case, she sent a representative to the first meeting rather than appearing herself.The attorney for the defendant accounting firm described the session as a "disaster".For mediation to be successful requires that both parties be present to communicate their expectations, settlement requirements, perceptions and understandings.Each party is also needed to participate in private caucuses with the mediator, and give a thumbs up or down to proposals.If the parties themselves are not in the mediation room talking across the table to each other, discussions that occur are inevitably incomplete because a key decision-maker is missing.The usefulness of the mediation session is thus greatly compromised.

As the second round of mediation in Rhianna's case is about to begin, the judge made it very clear that Rihanna's presence is required and not optional.For good cause.

1. Should all courts have the same authority federal courts have to mandatemediation?Why or why not?
2. Family courts often require mediation on child custody and divorce cases. Is this a good use of court resources? Should they have different rules than businesses?