Question 1

Why do you need the names of all the parties before we talk?

Accepted Answer

Because of the conflicts check, which runs before any substantive conversation about the dispute. A mediator who has acted for one of the parties - or whose firm has, in any matter - cannot properly mediate, and finding that out three emails in is worse for everyone than finding it out in the first two minutes. So the first email should name every party: the individuals, the companies, the management company, the agent, anyone whose involvement matters. If a conflict exists, you are told immediately and pointed elsewhere. If none exists, the conversation proceeds properly.

Question 2

Can one party approach you, or does it have to be both?

Accepted Answer

One party can absolutely make the first approach - that is how most mediations start. What happens next depends on the role. If you want the firm as MEDIATOR, the appointment ultimately needs all parties to agree, so the first contact is about explaining the process and (usually) providing something you can send to the other side: mediation only works when everyone chose the room. If you want the firm as YOUR SOLICITOR going into a mediation, that is a normal single-client instruction and proceeds like any other. Either way, an approach from one party is confidential and commits nobody.

Question 3

What should I put in the first email?

Accepted Answer

Five things, briefly: the dispute in ten lines - what it is about, not the whole history; every party by name, for the conflicts check; what has been tried already (correspondence, solicitors’ letters, a management-company meeting that went badly); whether proceedings have been issued or threatened, and any dates that are running; and the question that matters most - what would a good outcome actually look like for you? That last one is not a formality. Parties who can answer it settle; parties who can only describe what they are angry about usually need a different conversation first.

Question 4

How quickly can a mediation actually happen?

Accepted Answer

Faster than most people expect, because the constraint is diary space rather than any listing system: once all parties have agreed to mediate, agreed the mediator, and signed the agreement to mediate, a date can usually be found within weeks - and where a genuine commercial deadline is driving things (a sale closing, an AGM, a funding condition, a hearing date), that is said at the outset and the process is designed around it. Online mediations can be arranged faster still. Compare that to the timeline of contested proceedings and the arithmetic explains itself.

Question 5

Is the first conversation confidential, and does it cost anything?

Accepted Answer

The first conversation is confidential and is about scoping: whether mediation fits, which role applies, whether a conflict exists, and what the process would look like for your dispute. Fees are then agreed in writing before anything begins - for a mediation, with all parties, before the mediation commences; for legal services to a client, at the outset in the usual way. No figures appear on this website because a mediation’s shape (parties, days, preparation, venue) determines them, and quoting before understanding the dispute would be guessing.

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