Mediation on the International Stage

Raworths' involvement in mediation has expanded greatly in the last twelve months. The number, value and range of subjects have risen and we have spread our international wings.

Mediation was, until recently, a rarely-used alternative to litigation. Although this had been changing slowly, we have, in the last year, seen a substantial leap in the use of mediation, and have used it for our clients - to resolve employment, inheritance, construction, property, commercial and family disputes. Wherever this has happened, the trauma, cost and uncertainty of a court hearing has been avoided and there is overwhelming agreement that it has been cost-effective.

We have also seen a trend towards using the services of a neutral third party at an increasingly early stage, and before court proceedings have been issued. This is not yet commonplace but our view is that this form of 'enhanced negotiation' is extremely effective in a very wide range of circumstances which are not yet being fully exploited. Our recent experience (below) of chairing an inter-state political dialogue has further convinced us of this, and we also can see mediation skills being used as an aid to broking commercial deals. We believe these uses will grow as the limits of what is possible are tested more and more.

Christopher Butterworth, Raworths' managing partner, has seen these changes from the other side of the coin when acting as a mediator in disputes referred to him. The highlights of his year have included chairing a three-day off-shore dialogue on behalf of CEDR, The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, between two governments over territorial issues; dealing with a two-day multi-million dollar high tech IT dispute in San Francisco; a dispute between a French public company and a US company under French law; and helping resolve a case in the Nicosia District Court. Such matters keep Raworths and Yorkshire on the international stage!

Not all mediations involve commercial issues and Raworths partner Zoë Robinson, the only solicitor accredited as a family mediator in our area, has also seen an increase in the number of family, children and financial disputes being dealt with by mediation. Again, the family mediation process can help avoid the trauma of contested court proceedings and retain essential relationships at a difficult time.

Christopher Butterworth