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28 March 2013 / Martin Burns
Issue: 7554 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Best person for the job?

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Martin Burns highlights the benefits of appointing a commercial mediator

There is no doubt that mediation of commercial disputes is on the government agenda, and its promise to reduce costs and promote consensus is genuinely attractive. But is mediation ever going to really stack up as a viable alternative to the courts?

The problem for mediation is that it has not been properly embraced by lawyers and used as a matter of routine. The history of mediation in the UK over the past 20 years suggests this is not going to happen anytime soon.

Lawyers know how to litigate. It is what they are trained to do. The courts are their comfort zone. Litigation is the lawyer’s natural state of mind and it is normal for them to advise their clients to litigate rather than mediate. It is also understandable that lawyers who act as mediators will often struggle to move out of an adversarial mindset, and find it difficult to adopt an approach that is all about patiently facilitating an amicable

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