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Lawyer-assisted mediation program boasts ‘record’ success rate
New figures coming out of an “out-of-court” mediation program have revealed its success rate is rising, with research indicating the service is now achieving a settlement in 83 per cent of cases.
Emma Musgrave
Legal Services Commission of South Australia’s legal aid service, the Family Dispute Resolution program, helps separating couples reach agreement over the care of their children and the division of assets. The service uses shuttle mediation, keeping parents apart while their lawyers and a chairperson come together to work through the issues.
“Our Family Dispute Resolution program helps parents avoid court proceedings that are usually expensive, lengthy and deeply distressing,” said LSC director Gabrielle Canny.
“It helps couples reach an out-of-court settlement with the assistance of lawyers who facilitate shuttle-style dispute resolution. This is not a round-table mediation process where parents sit down together to discuss their dispute. In fact, parents are kept apart during the process.
“Each parent arrives through a separate entry and goes to a secure room where they discuss the dispute with their lawyer. The lawyers for each parent then meet in another room where they work through the issues with a chairperson who has qualifications in law and in family dispute resolution. Throughout this process, each parent is regularly consulted by their lawyer and the Chairperson.
“This shuttle-style approach can help many couples reach a solution relatively quickly – rather than having to wait months or years for the matter to be dealt with in court.”
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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