2. Helping the parties to look at the evidence they have for the points they need to make to prove their case and helping the parties stand back from that evidence and see what it really shows.

3. Helping the parties think about the legal points that need to be shown to win their case.

4. Explaining the legal process and sometimes offering their experience of the process.

5. Sometimes making suggestions of ways forward or asking why some things have not been considered or are not thought possible.

At least one party in every dispute that is decided by a judge leaves court thinking the judge has got the answer wrong. Sometimes all the parties do!  Normally a judge makes the decision by looking at the paperwork that both sides have presented and hearing evidence in court from  both sides. Different people come across differently on different days and in different situations. It is very hard to say how a person will come across in evidence and what a judge will think of that evidence.  Lawyers have an old joke that lawyers who act for themselves have fools for clients. It’s not a particularly good joke but it does contain a truth, that it is very difficult to see the whole of a situation you are personally involved in and to be objective about what your evidence shows and how good your own case is.

  Litigation is expensive

Lawyers cost money, because lawyering is a job that people train hard for and want to be paid for.  People sometimes think they can do litigation without a lawyer. Sometimes they can (but don’t forget the old joke above). In most cases they shouldn’t.  The Law should be simple and straightforward so that it can be understood by everyone.  It isn't.   If it was there wouldn’t be any lawyers.  Judges should make perfect decisions that do justice and right wrongs but no one is perfect, and nor are judges' decisions.  To do litigation properly you probably need a lawyer.   Even if you think you don’t the other side will probably want one.  Whoever loses generally pays their own lawyer and the other sides lawyer.  And legal fees have a habit of escalating, often way beyond what you expected.   Mediation (at least at mediation 1^st) has a fixed price for the day. You can look at our fees here.

Although the hearing where a judge makes a decision may last from a few hours to a few days the steps that need to be taken before those hearings and the pressure on the court system mean that you can wait twelve  months to two years for a final hearing, and in complicated or difficult cases, more than that.   Mediation can be arranged quickly, whenever both parties and the mediator are available and normally finishes with an agreement at the end of that day.

In fact, it might force you to!  Whenever a dispute finds itself in court the court expects the parties to try to reach an agreement. You might have to explain to the court why you haven’t tried to mediate. The Court can now order you to mediate.

Step 1: Agree to mediate.  Mediators can only work with the parties when all the parties agree to mediate.  If you want to try to arrange a mediation you could send this guide to the other parties and ask them if they agree to mediate.  Normally the cost of the mediator is shared between the parties.

Step 2: Agree who to use as a mediator!  There are lots of mediators out there, pick one that doesn’t have any relationship to any of the parties.  At Mediation1st our mediators have online profiles so you can see what their background is and get an idea about what they are like.  If it would help, our knowledgeable Mediation Coordinator, Rachel Mills, has seen our mediators work and would be pleased to chat through the choice with you.

Step 3: Decide whether to mediate online or in the "real world".   )Mediation can take place online (at Mediation 1^st we use Zoom) or in the real world. Some people are reluctant to mediate online because they think it won’t seem as real or the technology might be difficult to manage.  In our experience at mediation 1^st almost anyone can manage the tech, as long as they have a computer, smart phone or tablet and outcomes are just as good online as they are face to face.  Online is also cheaper- more convenient (no travel) and sometimes better for those mediations that drag on into the evening because nobody has to rush back home because they are already there.

Step 4: Book a mediation date.  At Mediation1st  we have an online booking system.   You can look at the available dates for the mediator that you want to use and make either a provisional or firm booking. A provisional Booking is for when the other side have agreed to mediate, agreed on the mediator but you haven’t confirmed the date with them. At mediation1st we hold the date for 72 hours to give the other parties a chance to confirm they want that date. If they do it becomes a firm booking.  A firm Booking is for when all parties have agreed to mediate, agreed which mediator to instruct, and agreed the date.  When you book you will have to provide 1. Contact details for all the other parties & their solicitors if they have them.  2. A Brief description of the dispute. i.e. “building dispute” or “Will dispute.  3. An idea about how much money the dispute is about: ie less than £50,000, More than £100,000 but less than £250,000. If the dispute is about a boundary or not about money then just say so. The mediation fee depends on the value and type of the dispute.  Step 5: Sign the mediation agreement and pay the mediation fee.  After you make a firm booking our Mediation Coordinator Rachel will send all the parties a copy of the mediation agreement for them to sign and an invoice for the fees.  When everyone has signed the mediation agreement and paid the fee your mediation is good to go. 

Get the papers together.  The Mediator needs to see enough of the letters between you, any agreements and any evidence to be able to understand the dispute.  What really helps the mediator is if the parties can agree what documents are important and put them all together in a PDF document that can be emailed or sent using a file sharing app.    We usually ask you to keep the document to 100 pages or less.   It's natural to want to bombard the Mediator with every bit of paper in your possession but it doesn't help the mediation process.   A mediation is not a trial, and the Mediator isn't going to consider the quality of the quantity of the evidence.   A mediation is a negotiation which is all about cutting to the chase, so it's good if that process starts with the selection of the documents for the mediation.   We don't want to fail to see the wood for the trees!

When deciding what documents to send to the mediator there is no point in refusing to include a document if the other parties think it is important, even if you think it isn’t or that it doesn’t show what they think it shows.  Even if one party says a document is a forgery and the other party or parties want to use it in the dispute the document should be included, you can say what you think about it at the mediation or in your statement for the mediation. Remember, the mediator isn’t deciding the dispute, they just need to understand what all the parties are saying and why.  All the court rules about evidence don’t apply to mediation so the papers (usually called the bundle) so you can include private communications that wouldn’t normally be shown to the court if you want.   

Decide who is going to be at the mediation.  If you need support at the mediation, bring it. If there are other people who have a stake in the outcome but aren’t parties, bring them.It is up to the parties who they bring to a mediation.

Although you can object to someone they want to bring to support them (and there is nothing they can do to force you them to accept that person) it isn’t generally a good idea to do that. At mediation you want the other side to be calm and relaxed, thinking clearly and making sensible decisions. You want all the people who have a stake in the outcome available to help the other parties make decisions. If the mediator thinks that a person someone has brought with them for support isn’t being helpful they will often find a subtle and suitable way to say so and suggest the person changes their approach or stays out of it.

Write a short statement about the dispute.  This doesn’t have to be a legal document or a "skeleton argument" like you might see in court.   It is just what the dispute is about from your point of view.   It’s known as a "Position Statement" and it should be exactly that - a statement of your Position.  You can send your Position Statement to the other parties (usually better because it lets the other parties know where you are starting from) or send it for the mediator only.  Don’t get too upset about anything the other parties write in their position statement.  It’s just their starting point, you have to expect them to move from that during the mediation (just as they will expect you to move from yours!)  

Generally it's better to be represented by a lawyer in any legal dispute, whether at mediation or litigation. If you can’t do that, because of cost or some other reason, then it can be a good idea to have at least a short first meeting with a solicitor to talk about the dispute before the mediation. That is often not very expensive and can make a big difference to your understanding of what the crucial points might be.  Be careful of advice from lawyers who don’t specialise in the type of dispute you have and also beware of advice from other people who seem to have been in a similar situation.  The devil is in the detail and it’s unlikely the advice you get from either of those will be of any real use.

At the mediation you have the power. The only problem is - so do the other side!  Nobody can make you do anything at a mediation you don’t agree to do (but nobody can make the other side do anything they don't agree to do either!).   So, realistically, it's going to be all about compromise - on both sides.

If you don’t want to be in the same room or virtual room as the other parties then you don’t have to. If they don’t want to be in the same room or virtual room as you, you can’t make them either. It can be a long day!  Mediations normally start in the morning and often continue until late in the afternoon or early evening. Make sure you have as much of the day free as possible to make sure you get the maximum chance to sort the dispute out.

The worst thing that can happen at a mediation is that the dispute doesn’t settle. So, in a sense, and apart from the mediation fee, the worst that can happen is that you're no worse off than when you started.   If the case doesn't settle hen you will have tried and the dispute can still be taken to court.  Nothing you say in the mediation will be repeated in court and unless you’ve signed a settlement agreement none of the compromises you made on the day will bind you in any way.

What if I’m not good with technology?  Zoom, which is the online video conferencing app we use, is really easy to use - we can guide you through it on the day.  If the problem is getting the papers together you could collect them all together in a physical bundle and take them to a print shop who could scan the bundle and then you can send that to us and the other side electronically, usually by email.  (We don't want a physical bundle, thank you, it's much easier to work with an electronic one).

The other people involved in the dispute won’t agree to mediate, what can you do to help?  Nothing I’m afraid. We can only act where all parties agree to appoint us. You might want to send them a link to this guide- it might help them make the decision,

The other people involved want to mediate but won’t use mediation 1st, hat can you do to help.Obviously we think that is foolish of them, we think we are good mediators and could help resolve the dispute but if they won’t agree to appoint one of us there is nothing we can do about it. All the information in this guide is still useful to you for a mediation with someone else.