A Message from Cherie Booth QC, Vice President of the Family Mediators Association.

As a lawyer and as a daughter, wife, and mother I am aware of how many roles we all play in our complex world.  There are no quick and simple answers to the problems and issues faced by modern families even in good times; all the more so when families are in conflict.  For this reason I would always recommend family mediation to anyone seeking the best way to deal with family problems.  These problems can arise on divorce or separation, but equally can be faced by grandparents seeking contact with their grandchildren, by parents who have not married, by co-habitees without children, and by same-sex couples. Family mediation is the modern approach.

Family mediators, usually working in a team of a lawyer –mediator and therapist-mediator, can help unravel the knots with a combination of accurate legal information and a sensitive exploration of needs, fears and goals.  People negotiate in complete privacy and work together with the mediators to reach their own solution uniquely tailored to their own family’s needs.  Families in mediation can stay away from the courts, with all the stresses, delays, and costs of court proceedings, and at the same time reach agreements which can if needed be turned by consent into court orders.

As a Vice President of the FMA I have always been aware of the high standard of training and professional regulation offered by the Association.  This year I have learned with pleasure that some specially qualified FMA mediators can now also consult children directly in mediation when the circumstances are judged appropriate.

I believe this new service will be a valuable addition to the services the FMA can offer.



CHERIE BOOTH QC