The data for this study were collected from six county courts in Pennsylvania. The findings suggest that certain characteristics -- the use of mediation as a first step in dispute resolution, the informal training of mediators, and the technical nature of court rules regarding mediation -- are common to court-based mediation services. However, two themes underlie the differences between these services. The first is the tendency for mediation services to be more highly bureaucratized in larger counties. The second trend is that in these larger counties, the overriding goal to resolve the dispute through mediation often supercedes the bureaucratic rules and written policies. Furthermore, while the mediation environment in smaller courts may seem more discretionary, discretion actually prevails more often in larger courts because of the pressure to process cases efficiently. In terms of establishing professional standards for mediators, policymakers should consider several perspectives: research into additional sources of differences among court-based services, the possibility of establishing general guidelines with allowances for discretionary decisionmaking, and the abolition of professional standardization because of its impracticability. 4 notes, 10 references.