Mediation Skills for Lawyers

Many people including lawyers have seen the benefits of mediation training. Not only does it give you the capacity to resolve disputes, it will give you a greater sense of the motivation of disputing parties and actually significantly enhance your negotiation skills, and for those to choose to qualify there’s the added benefit of an accredited qualification too.

Qualifying as a Mediator
For those who want to train as a full qualified mediator within the United Kingdom there are a number of mediation providers who provide fully accredited mediation courses. These typically take place over a number of days and, subject to a successful assessment, an individual can become fully accredited.

There are a number of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers including ADR Group, The Academy of Experts and Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution(CEDR) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators who provide training.

For a not insignificant fee, these providers will explain what ADR and in particular, mediation is about, allow you to do role plays and develop your expertise in the field.

Trainers on the course will provide you with a great deal of feedback and explain how to develop skills so that you will successfully pass the assessment.

What is key is your approach because the skills of becoming a successful mediator are not the easiest to learn such as handling conflict, allowing parties to get rid of their anger and an ability to establish rapport quickly with people who are under stress.

Other skills required include an ability to listen carefully to what is being said by the parties and the capacity to observe body language. You need an ability to probe all the parties and understand precisely what is motivating them and thereafter to search for a solution which is acceptable to all.

Mediation Training for Lawyers
Of course not every one will want to become a fully qualified and accredited mediator. They will simply want a good understanding of the mediation process and an introduction to the skills of a mediator to enhance their job performance. An introductory course with Human Law Mediation gives the opportunity to dip your toes into the subject of mediation, learn about the differing forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution and then in a safe and supportive way develop negotiation skills and the fine art of mediation.

Like in any course you can also expect to be taken out of your comfort zone. For lawyers who frequently use documents in their work, they will need to learn the skill of communicating more face to face. HR professionals and managers in large organisations are increasingly recognising the value of such skills in managing individual employees and getting the most from their teams.

If you would like to discuss mediation training for yourself or your team contact Justin Patten at Human Law Mediation.