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In relation to family law this is when a
couple meet with a trained mediator
and try to reach an agreement in
relation to their children and or their
property. The Government are promoting
this as the answer to all family litigation.
Some judges are already disagreeing with
this policy.
A mediated settlement is a
compromise and may not the best
deal that can be reached on behalf of a
client. Clients are not legally trained;
they often don’t even know what issues
to consider in order to preserve long term
assets for themselves.
I have concerns about the forced use
of mediation in every case. One party
may feel slightly bullied by the other. A
mediator is trained to try and spot this
but each couple will have their own way
of behaving in public. I have had hundreds
of financial cases where clients were
forced to attend mediation (because they
were in receipt of legal aid). Only three
of those cases resulted in an agreement
and in each instance I had to advise my
client that the deal reached was not very
favourable to them. The mediated deal
is supposed to be reflected in a Consent
Order that I or the other solicitor draft. It
is then placed before the court for sealing.
Once that happens the order is final and
neither party is able to make a further
claim against the other.
In one case involving assets worth just
over £100,000 I advised my client that at
the very least he should receive a further
£16,000 from the settlement. I then
had to negotiate further with his wife’s
solicitor to obtain this money for him.
The mediated agreement had already
taken five months and now in effect I had
to start again.
What about the party who hides
assets? In one case recently I uncovered
another £38,000 of assets that the other
party had forgotten to disclose. This
took a lot of investigative work on my
part, a skill that has taken years to learn.
Would this have been uncovered by a
mediator?
I do think that mediation can be effective
when dealing with children’s issues. In
relation to property matters I have my
doubts.
Most good solicitors will ask their
clients to provide all relevant financial
information. They will then send this
to the other solicitor. A summary is
usually prepared listing all assets and
then negotiations begin. We are all using
the same statute/rules as each other.
Often matters can be narrowed down to
a couple of issues. At this stage a roundthe-
table meeting can be held to iron out
the difficulties and reach an agreement.
Good practice dictates that less than
15% of cases should end up in court, in
my experience it is usually less than 10%.
When cases do end up in court it is often
because the parties cannot agree issues.
They may still feel bitter about things that
happened during their marriage. They are
not the couples who could sit and discuss
anything with a mediator.
In relation to family law this is when a
couple meet with a trained mediator
and try to reach an agreement in
relation to their children and or their
property. The Government are promoting
this as the answer to all family litigation.
Some judges are already disagreeing with
this policy.
A mediated settlement is a
compromise and may not the best
deal that can be reached on behalf of a
client. Clients are not legally trained;
they often don’t even know what issues
to consider in order to preserve long term
assets for themselves.
I have concerns about the forced use
of mediation in every case. One party
may feel slightly bullied by the other. A
mediator is trained to try and spot this
but each couple will have their own way
of behaving in public. I have had hundreds
of financial cases where clients were
forced to attend mediation (because they
were in receipt of legal aid). Only three
of those cases resulted in an agreement
and in each instance I had to advise my
client that the deal reached was not very
favourable to them. The mediated deal
is supposed to be reflected in a Consent
Order that I or the other solicitor draft. It
is then placed before the court for sealing.
Once that happens the order is final and
neither party is able to make a further
claim against the other.
In one case involving assets worth just
over £100,000 I advised my client that at
the very least he should receive a further
£16,000 from the settlement. I then
had to negotiate further with his wife’s
solicitor to obtain this money for him.
The mediated agreement had already
taken five months and now in effect I had
to start again.
What about the party who hides
assets? In one case recently I uncovered
another £38,000 of assets that the other
party had forgotten to disclose. This
took a lot of investigative work on my
part, a skill that has taken years to learn.
Would this have been uncovered by a
mediator?
I do think that mediation can be effective
when dealing with children’s issues. In
relation to property matters I have my
doubts.
Most good solicitors will ask their
clients to provide all relevant financial
information. They will then send this
to the other solicitor. A summary is
usually prepared listing all assets and
then negotiations begin. We are all using
the same statute/rules as each other.
Often matters can be narrowed down to
a couple of issues. At this stage a roundthe-
table meeting can be held to iron out
the difficulties and reach an agreement.
Good practice dictates that less than
15% of cases should end up in court, in
my experience it is usually less than 10%.
When cases do end up in court it is often
because the parties cannot agree issues.
They may still feel bitter about things that
happened during their marriage. They are
not the couples who could sit and discuss
anything with a mediator.
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