This study examines the effects of client and attorney gender, settlement rate and prior use of mediation or litigation on parental perceptions of their experiences participating in a mediation to resolve a child custody dispute. Information was gathered by giving parents who participated in mediation an exit survey consisting of 18 questions. The author found the following: a mediation that did not result in settlement was found to be less productive if the attorney was female; prior mediation affected the sense of productivity of a mediation only if the attorney was female; female attorneys presented mediation more positively to female clients who did not settle than to male clients who did not; clients who received more favorable input about mediation were more likely to settle; if mediation was not mandatory, male clients were more likely than female clients to take settlement rates into consideration; and clients who were represented were more likely to be satisfied with mediation than clients who were not represented.