Lawyers and Mediation

This book charts the historical and current interaction between lawyers and mediation in both the common law and civil law world and analyses a number of issues relevant to lawyers’ part in the process.  Lawyers have in the past and continue to play many roles in the context of mediation. While some are champions for the process, many remain on the fringes and apathetic, while others are openly sceptical or even anti-mediation in their stance. Yet others may have embraced mediation but, it is argued, for cynical, disingenuous reasons.  By reviewing existing empirical evidence on lawyers’ interactions with mediation and by examining historical and current trends in lawyers’ dalliance with mediation, this book seeks to shed new light on a number of related issues, including: lawyers’ resistance to mediation; lawyers’ motives for involvement with mediation; the appropriateness of lawyers acting as mediators and party representatives; and the impact that both lawyers and the increasing institutionalisation of mediation have had on the normative form of the process, as well as the impact that mediation experience heralds for lawyers and legal systems in general.

"Professor Clark has written a balanced and nuanced book about the engagement of the legal profession with mediation. A bonus is that the book is written in a very accessable style. The content covers the most important aspects of the sometimes ambivalent relationship between the legal profession and mediation. Anyone who is considering the future of lawyers and mediation is advised to read this book" (Martin Brink [NMI, IMI, CEDR certified mediator, The Netherlands], Amazon, September 2012)

"To this reviewer’s mind, there is no greater indication of a “disturbance in the force” of legal practice than when books like this one are published – and for the avoidance of all doubt, this is a compliment […] This tome is an excellent contribution to the writing related to mediation. In a field where books about mediation and representation of mediation are, if not plentiful, at least commonplace, this book aspires to be more. As its author […] states in the preface: “This book is not a practice guide not a ‘how to’ manual.” Instead it seeks to “tread a cautious and balanced path through the thorny terrain of the lawyer’s relationship with, role within and on the fringes of mediation.” That the author is neither a practising lawyer nor mediator only lends to the legitimacy of the views being balanced […] the fairness of the views in the book shine through. […] It is difficult to do justice to a work such as this in the limited space of this review. It is hoped that any shortcomings in this review is made up for by the following closing remarks. This is an excellent book […] a valuable resource for educators, policy-makers and those whose mission is to promote and develop mediation." (Joel Lee, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore Asian Journal on Mediation, November 2012)

"Clark...  frame[s] mediation development as a platform between two competing interests: advocates for judicialefficiency and advocates for disputant control. Thus, Lawyers and Mediation serves as a great book for individuals interested in reading balanced and pragmatic research on an evolving ADR mechanism"  Brian Rans, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation, Winter 2013, Voiume 3, Issue 1

"This book is a work of great endeavour and diligence... The need for reform of legal education is a recurrent theme in this book. It is suggested, rightly in this reviewer’s opinion, that mediation must become a core subject in university degree courses.... There is a huge leap from university degree courses... to the day-to-day practice of law rooted in the need for good client outcomes. That leap is even greater for those studying at universities where negotiation and mediation are either not taught or taught as voluntary or add-on subjects. The author has made a clear statement about all this and it is to be hoped that universities will take up his clarion call" David Cornes, Journal of Chartered Institue of Arbitration 2013 79(1): 111

"This book is highly recommended to all those interested in the development of mediation, and to those seeking to study the interaction of the courts and lawyers with mediation. It will be instructive to those operating in both civil law and common law jurisdictions. Clark's book is rich with resources, empirical studies, theoretical analyses, and creative and interesting discussions of the subject" (Sherif Elnehaghy, University of Aberdeen Edinburgh Law Review, Volume 17, 2013)

Dr Bryan Clark is a Professor in the Law School, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and an Adjunct Professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.  He is an academic lawyer and mediation scholar and holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow, an LLM from the University of Dundee and a BA from the Robert Gordon University.  He has published widely in the fields of mediation and the role of lawyers and courts therein, civil dispute resolution and company law and delivered numerous academic and professional conference and seminar papers on these topics both at home and abroad.  He is a member of the Academic Committee of the Civil Mediation Council for England and Wales and the Accreditation and Validation Panel for Relationships Scotland (family mediation and counselling service).