Policymakers love the concept of mediation – a reasonable, cost-effective and grown-up process to keep people out of court. So why is take-up of family mediation not higher?
One issue might be that solicitors make less money out of mediation than pursuing family disputes in the courts, so what is in it for them?
James Carroll appears in The Law Society Gazette saying it pays to be far-sighted: "You should have enough faith in your practice that helping people separate sensibly will be a driver of new work in its own right. It is self-perpetuating. The more constructive you are, the more you are trying to help your clients, in whatever form resolves matters, the more clients you will get. Conversely, if you are always assessing a client by your bottom dollar, you are going to generate a bad reputation and practice. So just don't do it."
We can work it out is available to read on The Law Society website.
James is a partner in the family team. He specialises in the financial and other consequences of relationship formation or breakdown.