Associate Professor Brent White and marketing coordinator Ruth Molloy of the Law Faculty at the University of Otago discuss the popularity of a course on mediation that they started in February 2011. More than 100 students registered for the course. Mediation as an alternative form of dispute resolution has a number of advantages over traditional court processes. Participants tend to feel more included in the process, and it is less confrontational. Disputes are often settled with an apology and no payout, or a smaller payout than would normally be the case. Mediation is steadily gaining acceptance in New Zealand, and is a way for members of the public to avoid delays and steep legal fees in the civil law courts.