Geraldine Morris explains the fundamental principles of mediation
By virtue of the Law Society’s Family Law Protocol (since February 2002) , unless it is clearly inappropriate to do so, family solicitors are required to explain mediation and collaborative processes and advise on thae benefits and/or limitations in the client’s specific case plus the role of the solicitor in supporting the mediation process where appropriate. Thus methods of ADR cannot be disregarded by family lawyers who are not trained mediators or collaborative lawyers. The suitability of ADR cannot then be forgotten after the initial advice, but rather kept under review throughout. A distinction may be drawn between the role of a mediator (who may or may not be a family lawyer) and the mediation based skills many family lawyers have developed in the course of their normal practice.
The client
It is inevitable that parties experiencing the breakdown of their own relationship will find it difficult to separate out their roles as parents (which will continue) and partners/spouses/civil partners. Both family lawyers and mediators
