Mediation is one step closer to the feel of a court, compared to counseling. A mediator may or may not insist that final agreements be according to the letter of the law. The reason that things don't necessarily need to keep to the letter of the law in mediation business progress is because a mediation agreement is something that is agreed upon by the disputing parties, and not something that is decided for them. In other words the mediator has not status of a judge, and the mediated parties retain all of the decision making power. Unless the disputing parties agree on an agreement and sign on the bottom lines, there is no agreement to uphold.