People involved in civil lawsuits prefer mediation to nonbinding arbitration and like judge 

trials better than jury trials, a new study by a University of California Davislaw professor concludes.

Overall, litigants like mediation, trials before judges and negotiations that include participants along with their attorneys more than all other forms of alternative dispute resolution, the study by Donna Shestowsky shows.

The findings could help courts struggling to deliver civil justice in the face of budget cuts decide what kind of alternative dispute resolutions programs to offer.