The benefits of using a mediator

Hello Everyone,

My blog is a bit later than usual this month because I have recently spent six days doing some intensive training to become a qualified mediator.

Whilst mediation is increasingly used in all areas of law, it is particularly useful in Family Law.

The Family Court refers many matters to mediation and although mediation is widely used during court proceedings, with lawyers involved, it can also be used by parties without lawyers before and after matters proceed in court.

The point of mediation is for the mediator to facilitate an agreement between the parties.

Importantly the mediator does not give advice or make decisions for the parties, but the role of the mediator is to facilitate discussions so that, hopefully, the parties can make an agreement themselves.

In the emotionally charged area of family law, mediation gives parties an opportunity to be truly heard on all of the issues troubling them, which may not necessarily have a “legal” solution.

For example, today I referred an old client to mediation. My client and her ex-partner have court orders in place, but the court orders do not give them practical solutions on how to deal with each other on a day to day basis about issues relating to their child.

No court can force people to be civil to each other, or to respect the other parent’s needs or wishes, but hopefully by working through the practical problems with a mediator the couple will be able to effectively co-parent into the future.

The benefit of having a neutral family lawyer as a mediator is that they are well versed in the issues relating to families who have separated and future problems that may arise.

If both parents are willing to participate in mediation, rather than go to court, they are more than likely to come to an agreement that they can live with, rather than have on imposed upon them by a judge, however, mediation must be voluntary or it is unlikely to be successful.

As always please feel free to comment on this or any other of my blogs. I would also be happy to respond to any questions you may have on this topic.

If you have any further queries please feel free to contact me directly at Septimus Jones & Lee on (03) 9613 6555