Intransigence has no place at the mediation table, says Steven O’Sullivan
As someone who defends claims against solicitors for a living, I am quite a fan of mediation. It can be a great alternative to the expensive roulette wheel of litigation, allowing parties to determine their own settlement rather than having a solution imposed upon them by a third party. Entrenched views can be challenged not just by the opposition, but by an objective third party (the mediator) who, if skilful, can make the parties wake up to the problems and risks involved with their case. However, mediation can be pointless unless the parties involved approach the process constructively. I want to illustrate this point with a particularly bad experience that I had at a mediation recently.
A case in point
The facts of the case are complex and involve multiple parties. One of those parties, the claimant, is a lender who (generally) is a multiple victim of negligence by professionals. Thus they are no strangers to this type of claim. The other parties tried to resolve the difficulties in a pragmatic and
