The length of the mediation process depends of the type of case being heard in mediation. For example, bullying in school or on the job, consumer disputes, credit card bills or HOA disagreements, neighbor to neighbor conflicts or EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Case) can take an hour to 4 hours to resolve. Also, it should be noted that it depends on the complexity of the case that it can take longer than 4 hours.
Should the case be that the disputants do not settle during the mediation process, the disputants can decide whether or not to take the matter to court for a judge/hearing officer to decide the case resolution, for example. In a lot of cases the disputants continue the conversation(s) among themselves after the mediation process, as it opens doors for positive dialogue, for them to reach a resolution on their own.