15 December 2017 / Caroline Bowden

Issue: 7774 / Categories: Features , Mediation , Family

Mediation: a better route to a good settlement?

Solicitors & mediators should work in tandem, says Caroline Bowden.

Mediators should draft consent orders, or to an equivalent level of detail, at the end of financial mediations.
Mediators need robust standards throughout to enable coherent, balanced and certain settlement proposals to be turned into a legally binding outcome.
The Government’s review of LASPO has the opportunity to embed this as a culture change, to reverse some of the current problems.

The Family Mediation Council (FMC) decided at the beginning of 2017 to put out three questions for consultation:

Would the role of a mediator as an impartial third party in mediation be jeopardised by that mediator drafting a consent order, once a mediated agreement has been reached?
Is it possible to draft a consent order without giving advice on its terms?
Is it appropriate to draft a consent order without giving parties advice on its terms?

At the end of the year, they reported on the rather obvious conclusion that the consultation ‘did not produce

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Mediation: a better route to a good settlement?

Solicitors & mediators should work in tandem, says Caroline Bowden.

Mediators should draft consent orders, or to an equivalent level of detail, at the end of financial mediations.
Mediators need robust standards throughout to enable coherent, balanced and certain settlement proposals to be turned into a legally binding outcome.
The Government’s review of LASPO has the opportunity to embed this as a culture change, to reverse some of the current problems.

The Family Mediation Council (FMC) decided at the beginning of 2017 to put out three questions for consultation:

Would the role of a mediator as an impartial third party in mediation be jeopardised by that mediator drafting a consent order, once a mediated agreement has been reached?
Is it possible to draft a consent order without giving advice on its terms?
Is it appropriate to draft a consent order without giving parties advice on its terms?

At the end of the year, they reported on the rather obvious conclusion that the consultation ‘did not produce

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content

If you are already a subscriber sign in

...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

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Mediation: a better route to a good settlement?

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

EIP—Rob Barker

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler