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58 The Mediation Process or imposed. Thexefore, they believe that disputants should have adequate time to mobilize their power before starting negotiations or engaging a mediator's services. Examples of mo- bilization of resources might include visiting a lawyer and ob- taining advice on the strength of a legal case, conducting research necessary for informed negotiations, mobilizing a community group to protest a particular policy, filing a case in court, or planning a strike. Early-entry adherents generally do not disagree with those advocating late entry about the needs of parties to mobi- lize and, whenever possible, equalize power. Failure to gather the necessary data before negotiations is tantamount to playing a game of poker without looking at the cards. Failure to assess legal power or, when appropriate, extralegal action before nego- tiations can cause one party to be taken advantage of by an- other. Advocates of early entry diverge from their colleagues who advocate late entry on the question of demonstrating coer- cive power. They argue that mobilization and exercise of co- ercion should be separated. Advocates of early entry point to experimental research (Rubin and Brown, 1975 demonstrating that the exercise of coercive power, although it may promote negotiations, does not necessarily promote cooperative behav- ior. This finding seems to be corroborated by research on out- comes of actual negotiations. Pearson (1984), for example, found that couples in divorce settlement mediation who had used coercive court mechanisms to obtain temporary orders had a lower rate of settlement than those who had not used legal coercion before settlement negotiations. Late-entry advocates counter with valid case examples in which the exercise of force-legal suits, strikes, or demonstra- tions-has been necessary to demonstrate a party's power and, in some cases, to force an opponent to negotiate. Last-minute pressure has clearly inclined parties toward agreement and has motivated them to request a mediator's assistance. Mediators who look for easy answers regarding questions of power and timing of the impartial party's entry will probably find none. The best answer is that these factors depend on the