Our Edinburgh office hosted the launch of the Scottish Mediation Charter on 21 January: a public statement made by organisations to confirm their willingness to use mediation as a way of resolving disputes and to equip their people with mediation skills. As well as hosting the event, our firm was one of the first signatories to the Charter.
Also in January, David Hossack and Laura McKenna appeared as judges in the UK Student Mediation Competition 2020 hosted by Glasgow University. This competition involved mediations by teams of diploma students from all over the UK, with a stringent and thorough scoring matrix in order to assess important elements of a successful mediation, including:
- Active listening and empathy;
- Facilitative questioning;
- Maintaining trust and rapport;
- Identifying parties' interests;
- Mediation strategy; and
- Management of the process.
Watch this space for further mediation updates. We now await the commencement of a public consultation on the proposals for increasing the consistency and use of mediation within the civil justice system in Scotland. A range of issues will be looked at as past of the consultation including how an Early Dispute Resolution Office might work, coordinating advice, assistance and representation, the standards required for mediators, complaints process, the possible financial model for mediation in Scotland and what training is required for the legal profession on dispute resolution. Another important question to be looked at is whether fresh legislation is required.
We are able to assist in providing the services of a mediator or to support you and your clients in any mediation. If interested in finding out more about our mediation expertise please contact David Hossack at david.hossack@mfmac.com and to learn more about the current developments you can listen to our podcast series:
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