Introduction

Representing parties at mediation is not a soft option for the advocate; nor is it a simple horse trading exercise, although sometimes it may descend to that. Mediation is a sophisticated process with its own internal dynamic of which all representatives should be aware. If they are unprepared, if they do not know what to expect, if they do not know what they are doing, their client will be at a considerable disadvantage and may come unstuck. Subtelty, perhaps guile, and a clear sense of what the client wants to achieve - his or her needs or wider business interests or relationships - are as, if not more important than the underlying legal case. The representative needs a clear strategy to help achieve the desired goals. Mediation advocacy is concerned with using the process to the best advantage of both sides in order to procure a successful outcome for each. 

The Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates, its website and education programme, and its fraternity are aimed at lawyers, accountants, surveyors and construction professionals, property and H.R. professionals, trade union representatives, local government officers and others who represent clients in mediation in all its forms, including dispute avoidance and collaberative bargaining. It is not only for "first-timers" needing to learn about the basics of mediation very quickly, particularly as to what they should expect and how they should prepare, but also for those more seasoned advocates wishing to specialise independently in mediation advocacy and who want to develop the particular skills that it requires.

Specialist advocacy in mediation is still in its infancy but there is no reason to suppose that, as court-annexed schemes develop and mediation comes to be regarded as just another form of dispute resolution hearing in which representation is accepted as a matter of course, the advocate's particular expertise should not be developed so that mediation advocacy becomes a desirable specialist skill. Full members of the SCMA practise, develop and promote such skill (see the pages Who We Are, List of SCMA Members and Membership Classes).

There has been a clear move in recent years away from the generalist mediator to the specialist mediator be he or she a lawyer or other expert. It has been recognised by sophisticated commercial parties with complex disputes that professional mediators with expertise in the field of the dispute give mediation a better chance of success. Informed commercial parties look for sensible reasons, based on proper risk analysis of the litigated outcome of the dispute in question, to found a recommendation for settlement. They settle because there are sound commercial reasons for doing so, usually based, at least in substantial part, on a careful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the case. All this has an impact on the responsibility of the representative. He or she has a specific role and must be thoroughly prepared.

In the present legal landscape it is essential for all those who appear at mediation, be they lawyers or other professionals, to have a good understanding of the process. This website is aimed at helping all those involved, and who may wish then to become accredited to the SCMA as mediation advocates.