Over the 10 years we have been offering mediation training, we have seen solicitors from nearly all of the larger firms in Scotland participate — often because being able to offer clients an understanding of how mediation works, from the inside as it were, is recognised as a valuable service. But involvement extends to sole practitioners, who are seeking to develop a niche practice, and others from rural settings who anticipate the benefits that having these skills will bring to their firms.

The fact that they can mix with those participating in the course who come from a range of other sectors and organisations often results in strong networking connections that extend well beyond the seven days of training.

Several hundred solicitors and members of the bar have participated in mediation in Scotland in recent years, many of them on numerous occasions. However, training adds a further dimension. We are seeing a change in how lawyers approach contentious problem solving. Many skilled practitioners now use the skills we associate with mediation — and effective negotiation — to achieve more creative, cost-effective and speedier outcomes for clients.

There is an interesting feature on this topic in the latest edition of the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland.

Read more about Core’s forthcoming flagship mediation training course here.