"While the title suggests this excellent book is only for mediation advocates, it will be useful to anyone going to mediation, including the parties"
Author: Stephen Walker
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781780437927
Price: £70
One of the things about mediation is it is done behind closed doors, so it is difficult for anyone not involved on a regular basis to understand what really goes on. By their very nature mediations and their outcomes are confidential, unless the parties otherwise agree. Success stories are rare in the legal press. A mediation finally made it to prime-time TV in an episode of Coronation Street last year, but was met with dismay by the mediation community because of how mediation was portrayed (it did not settle). So a very welcome addition to books on the subject is one that tells how mediation really is, and how the process that some proponents describe as “magical” actually works.
Practical perspective
Written from a practical perspective, the author (an experienced mediator and former litigation solicitor) takes you right inside the process, from deciding if and when to mediate,