Byrom Street is pleased to announce the start of a new Mediation Service. Most of the mediators joining the panel will offer a blended form of mediation – one reactive to the participants’ needs – involving facilitative and evaluative elements.
Evaluative mediators usually start with many of the techniques used by facilitative mediators. They respect the core values of mediation: its voluntary nature, its confidentiality and the autonomy of the participants in making their own choices. As to maintaining neutrality, if possessing deep underlying subject matter expertise, and with the participants’ permission as matters develop, they can assist in outlining the potential outcomes of key sticking points if left for later adjudication. In this form of assisted negotiation, participants retain control of, but can more easily come to terms with, the decisions they have to make.
Byrom Street has a long history of litigation in Personal Injuries and Clinical Negligence, involving many landmark cases. Conducting JSMs has been at the heart of our practice since their inception. Indeed, it was under the auspices of a former Member (Leveson J, as he then was) that the original Working Party was constituted, on the Northern Circuit in 2002, to report on their conduct, with Giles Wingate-Saul QC, another former Member of Byrom Street, as one of the Joint Chairmen. With its history in the specific fields and acting on both sides, Members of Byrom Street are well placed to assist as evaluative mediators when a JSM alone might not quite be enough.
Some cases are particularly susceptible to the approach of blended mediation including evaluative elements: where the parties are a long way apart; where a JSM has already ended without agreement; where the parties or lawyers have fallen out; where there are complicated strands or multiple participants. These are but a few of the situations where it can be helpful if a mediator, who is truly expert in the subject matter of the dispute, is involved - someone who is experienced and respected, independent and trusted.
Some mediators on the panel will offer purely facilitative mediation on request. Byrom Street is happy to host mediations within Chambers
Mediators on the panel
James Rowley KC
The documents necessary to set up a Mediation are familiar and available below.