Stephen Shaw, Mediator explores a mediation scenario where the process is presented with a dilemma. How can a mediator manage the process when one of the parties fails to explain that there is noone there with the authority to settle? Negotiations have taken place and an offer is on the table. All parties signed the Agreement to Mediate before the mediation began. Yet just as the settlement agreement is due to be drawn up, one party throws a spanner in the works.