What about solicitors?

If you decide to mediate you may contact a mediator directly, click here to find a FMA mediator in your area.

You may ask a solicitor about mediation and if you see a solicitor about your relationship breakdown or child related problems, you should be given information about family mediation. In some instances a solicitor will not be able to deal with matters for you unless you have been referred to a mediator first to see whether the problems that you are having can be dealt with through the mediation process.

In some exceptional cases it may not be possible to deal with all or some of your problems by way of mediation and you may have to use a solicitor to act on your behalf. Your mediator will give you full information on this and how to proceed.

As a general rule, a solicitor is not involved face to face in the mediation process unless you decide to use a particular kind of mediation i.e., caucus mediation where each party has a lawyer and sees the mediator with the lawyer in turn. This is rarely used in family mediation. There is another model of mediation which directly involves the solicitor - see link to collaborative law

Normally the mediator will see both parties together in the same room, the mediator is independent, impartial, does not take sides and does not give advice. The mediator is there for both of you and can give information on all kinds of matters. A mediator cannot advise or instruct you to take a particular course of action. But the mediator may suggest that you take further advice, for instance on specialist pension or tax issues.

When you need specific independent legal advice you can obtain that advice from a solicitor. Sometimes it is a good idea to get some basic advice before you start mediation so that you know what the legal position is, or you may decide to wait until you have discussed proposals in mediation. The solicitor instructed by you will advise you and act in accordance with your wishes. The solicitor acts for you and you alone. A solicitor will deal with the mechanics of separation i.e., the preparation of divorce papers, court applications and orders and will, if the necessity arises, represent you in court on your behalf (or engage a barrister for you if needed). A mediator cannot do these tasks as it would compromise the mediator’s independence and neutrality.

Mediators will always recommend that you take legal advice alongside mediation, but because you are negotiating and agreeing issues in mediation, there is much less time and cost incurred on the legal side, so mediation is a very cost effective option to use.

Once you have completed mediation, and have firm proposals that you both agree on, you will need a solicitor to prepare legally binding documents.