Mediation Matters

Keeping Up To Speed

As a mediator it is important to keep up to speed with developments in fields in which you conduct mediations.

Many, or dare I say most of my mediations are within the area of relationships and for that reason it is important to keep up with developments and trends in the area of Family Law where I also practise as a consultant.

I find that one of the best ways to do this is to undertake presentations for groups of lawyers in areas and topics of special interest.Doing a presentation involves a number of tasks and skills one of which is to research recent cases to ensure that the presentation is up to date and relevant.

Over the past month I have undertaken a number of presentations to lawyers including the following:

i) A presentation on Advocacy in the Family Law jurisdiction for the Ipswich District Law Association;

ii) One for LegalWise on Running a Successful Legal Practice;

iii) One for Thomson Reuters on Mediation and Negotiation for Lawyers.

All of these presentations were well attended and gave me an opportunity to network and converse with lawyers and to hone my skills.

I enjoy presenting to lawyers and appreciate invitations to present when they do come.

I was also pleased to participate as a guest panellist for the Queensland Chapter of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators(IAMA) at it's most recent monthly event and this provided a very worthwhile opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with fellow mediators who confront the same challenges and issues on a daily basis.

Attendance at the Thomson Reuters and LegalWise seminars also gave me the opportunity to hear from other speakers in areas of interest including Employment Law, Discrimination and Ethics.

These days it is simply not enough to hang up your shingle.Changes in the law and developments in mediation are constantly occurring and it is vitally important to keep abreast of these changes if you are committed to assisting parties resolve their disputes outside the court process with it's everpresent costs and delays.