Do judges make great mediators? Sometimes, but not always.
Judges can be dictatorial. After all, a lifetime on the bench means a lifetime of telling people what to do with the knowledge that they must obey or go to jail.
Mediation is just the opposite. It is the art of convincing people to do something when they know they do not have to do it. Now, that takes a certain skill.
The most important traits in a mediator is the ability to gain the trust of the participants and to be persuasive. Once there is trust and persuasion, there can be resolution
Overtis Hicks Brantley 