Mediation: At the heart of law students’ interests
By Alejandro Coghill – trainee solicitor
It seems commonplace for students to come away from their LLBs with little to no knowledge of mediation. Ask anyone who has recently completed, or is currently undergoing the LLB, what mediation is, and you would more than likely struggle to get a correct answer. The simple truth is that students, particularly those in the early stages of their legal education, cannot be expected to be familiar with mediation when it is seldom, if ever, taught during the LLB.
My first exposure to mediation came during the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in a “Dispute Resolution” course that was generally very well received. Broadly speaking, if law students are ever exposed to mediation it seems to be in this final year of legal education i.e. the Diploma, which is a post-graduate course undertaken after an LLB, if a student wishes to progress to a solicitor traineeship. I am of the opinion that this late exposure to mediation is pernicious to obtaining a full legal education. More than ever before, clients are opting to pursue mediation over other more adversarial forms of dispute resolution. Even the Law Society of Scotland acknowledges the importance of mediation, with Law Society Guidance B.1.9 essentially imposing a duty on solicitors to not only understand alternative forms of dispute resolution, but to encourage a client to consider such “alternatives” where litigation may not be the best option. In my experience, there is significant student interest in mediation. This is why such Diploma courses are so popular. However, I believe that mediation would be of interest to early-stage students as it plays an important role in areas that are of particular interest to students.
The Importance of Mediation in a Commercial Context
The majority of students, in the cohorts I was a part of at least, were interested in pursuing a career in commercial law right from the beginning. Such students would, I am convinced, have been intrigued by the concept of mediation. A form of dispute resolution that is cheaper than litigation and helps preserve the relationship between (even belligerent) parties, encouraging future business. Now that would certainly have captured my attention. Whilst the commercial advantages of mediation are obvious to more experienced practitioners and scholars, such exposure to the commercial benefits of mediation would not only help boost interest in mediation, but it would also help develop students’ commercial awareness.
Mediation and its importance in Family Law
Students who were not interested in commercial law typically wanted to pursue a career in family law. This is an area in which mediation has proved popular. Unfortunately, students remain unaware of the importance of mediation with regard to resolving family disputes. Mediation, which is established upon procedural fairness and the principles of confidentiality, collaboration, self-determination and impartiality can be useful for the resolution of many family disputes. However, students interested in family law would be aided by education on the benefits and drawbacks to mediation. For example, in family law where allegations of domestic abuse are prevalent, mediation is not always the best course of action, and students would be helped by knowing more about mediation so they can analyse when it is suitable to offer as a form of ADR depending on circumstances.
Personal Development
One of the things that struck me after my “Dispute Resolution” course was how useful the skills learned through mediation can be when applied to one’s own life. Active listening, knowing how to balance the needs and wants of others and ensuring you understand contrasting viewpoints are skills which can help us develop in both a personal and professional capacity.
The goal of this blog is not to bust down the Law Society of Scotland’s doors and demand that mediation be included as part of the LLB. However, early exposure to mediation would be of great interest to students, it would develop their commercial awareness and provide them with valuable skills for their own lives. This blog is merely asking why, in a curriculum with courses that are heavily historical or philosophy focused, is there no room for mediation?