BL Resolve - June update
mediation news
mediation saves business an estimated £1.4 billion a year
CEDR's annual mediation audit for 2010[1] estimates
that 6,000 cases a year now go to mediation
with an overall settlement rate of 89% and saving businesses an
estimated £1.4 billion pounds in wasted management time, damaged
relationships, lost productivity and legal fees. This is double the
number of cases from 2007, the increase is mainly due to schemes
such as the National Mediation
Helpline and the increased promotion of mediation by the
Courts.
legal updates
court reviews solicitors' advice given at mediation
Normally all discussions during a mediation are privileged
however in some circumstances the court will examine those
discussions. The recent High Court case of Youlton v Charles
Russell[2], a claim against a firm of solicitors
for negligent advice, looked in considerable detail at the advice
given at a mediation and how that advice affected the outcome of
the mediation in the same way as the court would (and did) consider
advice given outside the mediation.
Lord Chief Justice encourages BA to mediate with union over
strikes
High profile support for mediation came in the appeal hearing of
British Airways v Unite[3] on 20 May. Lord
Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, stressed that the strike would have
to be resolved by negotiation. He said: “Legal processes do not
constitute mediation. On the contrary they often serve to inflame
rather than mollify the feelings of those involved.”
notes
[1] http://www.cedr.com/docslib/CEDRMediatorAudit2010.pdf
[2] Youlton v Charles Russell (a firm) [2010] All ER
(D) 135 (May)
[3] British Airways Plc v Unite the Union [2010] All ER
(D) 189 (May)
For further details of BL Resolve's mediation
services, please contact:
Jonathan
Lloyd-Jones, mediator in the Oxford
office, at jonathan.lloyd-jones@bllaw.co.uk or
on 01865 254204
David
Miles, mediator and adjudicator in the Oxford
office, at david.miles@bllaw.co.uk or
on 01865 254281
Susie
Dryden, mediator in the Southampton office,
at susie.dryden@bllaw.co.uk or
on 023 8085 7159
David
Evans, mediator in the Oxford office,
at david.evans@bllaw.co.uk or
on 01865 254289
Lara Robson, solicitor in the London
office, at lara.robson@bllaw.co.uk or
on 020 7814 5491
