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I can certainly see the benefit of mediation in family law disputes but with respect family law is not the same as other areas of litigation.

As you say, a spouse will rarely be awarded nothing but that is not generally the case in litigation where one party wins and the other loses.

If defendants/respondents were able to rely on costs to force claimants into mediation on the basis of costs where is the incentive to make a reasonable settlement offer? Just deny liability in even the strongest of cases. That's why we have Part 36.

And mediation is also available in employment disputes but rarely used as it is only appropriate in a small number of cases.