In the beginnings of the FMA

The origins of the FMA lie in a pioneering pilot project “Solicitors in Mediation” established in December 1985, when 5 London solicitors, Jack Bleiman, Henry Brown, John Cornwell, Diana Parker and Felicity White, joined with a family conciliator, Lisa Parkinson, to set up a pilot scheme. The 6 were looking for a new approach to help separating and divorcing couples reach agreed decisions on any or all issues, including arrangements for children, finance and property. An increasing number of divorcing clients were asking whether the same solicitor could see their partner as well, but solicitors were prevented by their professional practice rules from acting for both parties involved in separation or divorce.

Prior to this development conciliation/mediation services had focused almost exclusively on issues concerning children. They did not mediate on financial and property matters and the majority of conciliators in these services were social workers and counsellors who had not been trained in comprehensive mediation. There were considerable advantages in developing a cross-disciplinary approach in which an experienced family lawyer (solicitor or barrister) mediated jointly with a second mediator from a background in conciliation, counseling or social work. Between 1986 and 1988 the 6 members of the pilot project did a great deal of groundwork and training and drafted documents setting our basic principles and practice of comprehensive mediation before taking steps to offer a new service. Henry Brown and Jack Bleiman undertook training in comprehensive mediation with John Haynes in New York. Lisa Parkinson provided training sessions for the five lawyers in mediation methods designed by her and the pilot group for the English legal system.

One of the primary concerns was to liaise closely with the Law Society to ensure that solicitors who mediated would not be in breach of any of the Society’s ethical requirements. This was initially achieved by agreeing that solicitors who mediated would not do so “as solicitors” but specifically in a distinct role as mediators. The Law Society’s Family Law Committee also set up a joint working party with the 6 pioneers which met over a 2 year period to explore questions of professional indemnity, the Code of Practice required and the criteria for training and accreditation.

Training in comprehensive all issues mediation was seen as a priority and Lisa Parkinson took the initiative in obtaining a grant from the Nuffield Foundation to design and pilot a training programme in comprehensive mediation and co-mediators from different disciplines. A two-year grant of £50,000.00 was awarded to Lisa to develop and run training courses and to cover expenses, administered by the Tavistock Institute of medical Psychology. The Nuffield grant enabled the pilot project to move into a new phase from October 1988. The Law Society also provided a grant of £5,000, which helped with the FMA’s set-up costs.

The Solicitors in Mediation pilot had aroused great interest in legal and conciliation circles and to provide training and develop practice in interdisciplinary mediation a new association, The Family Mediators’ Association, was formed, holding its inaugural meeting on 7th December 1988 at 20 Essex Street, London WC2. Its objects were first to make mediation available on all issues that need to be settled in separation or divorce, including financial matters and property; second to pair a lawyer mediator with a family mediator so that separating or divorcing couples could be helped to settle issues that need legal expertise as well as the experience of working with couples and families; and third to provide interdisciplinary training for mediators from different profession backgrounds, including the law. The first chairperson was Diana Parker, Henry Brown was vice-chair and Lisa Parkinson the first director. By September 1989 the FMA had 45 mediator members in practice and another 20 training and by the end of 1990 members had doubled to 160 including those in training. FMA mediation was now available throughout England from Middlesbrough to Plymouth and from Shrewsbury to Suffolk.

Beliefs and aims