There is an evolving dispute resolution landscape in the legal field and in it, a growing importance of mediation. While mediation training and accreditation are, for many lawyers and barristers, still seen as an optional investment, there is a growing group of legal professionals who have chosen to undertake training and accreditation, and have experienced firsthand how significant a step it can be for dispute resolution professionals.

Two of Australia’s Leading Lawyer-Mediators, Anne Sutherland and Michael Mills, share why mediation accreditation matters......and why, although voluntary, it will increasingly become a distinct advantage, providing marketability, credibility, and access to referrals from institutions.

Why would a lawyer or a barrister benefit from mediation training?

‘Being a lawyer does not always make someone a better mediator’, and in the words of lawyer-mediator, Anne Sutherland, “the two disciplines are in some respects antithetical… every lawyer-mediator who is skilled at mediation would tell you, we need to unlearn parts of our legal training in order to become strong facilitative mediators.”

With a legal background at one of Australia's top-tier commercial law firms and then in human rights law, Sutherland highlights the benefits she found in having mediation credentials alongside legal qualifications, “Mediations are often in the context of a legal dispute. Being a lawyer-mediator means I can readily understand the documents, the legal context in which the dispute is taking place and the potential consequences of that legal context. It’s not the mediator’s role to give legal advice, parties are best served when their lawyers give the advice and the mediator mediates; however, when parties are concerned about legal issues, my legal background seems to give them reassurance.”

An experienced mediation trainer, her view is that additional qualifications are not always the primary objective for those who undertake mediation training, “many people these days do the training without necessarily planning to become accredited. They do it because they recognise the usefulness of those skills for their role as a practising solicitor, barrister or in-house counsel. If you want to become a more effective negotiator for your clients, do mediation training; clients will immediately perceive you as more commercial and more persuasive; together with legal training it’s a powerful combination.”

One of Australia's leading lawyers for complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution, Michael Mills sees mediation training and accreditation as an opportunity to broaden your dispute resolution skills, rather than shift purely from one model to another. Reflecting on his experience, Mills shared “I did it not because I wanted to be a mediator, I did it because I was a litigation lawyer and I believed it would improve my skills as a dispute resolution lawyer.”

He added, “Negotiation and mediation are quite different. It doesn’t mean that lawyers can’t be good mediators, of course they can, and they are, but there is some particular training and skills that are required to be a good mediator, just as there are to be a good lawyer, or a good dentist or an architect.”

Mills explained his experience applying the skills in practice, “it will better prepare you for when you a) appear before a mediator, as all litigation lawyers almost invariably do, and b) because it will broaden your skills in term of how you look at disputes; how you look at and participate in negotiations; and how you can advise your clients. It helps enormously.”

But is accreditation actually necessary?

As noted by both Mills and Sutherland, for many, mediation training and skills have been invaluable investments for legal professionals, as they provide the necessary skills and expertise to navigate complex negotiations and achieve mutually beneficial resolutions - whether that’s in a legal context or a broader people management one. However, the value in deciding to pursue accreditation may not be so obvious.

While accreditation is absolutely an opt in, speaking from personal experience, Sutherland says, “Becoming accredited was an essential prerequisite to a number of panel appointments that have contributed significantly to my career and development of expertise….”

“There is no way you’ll get on any panel of mediators or conciliators in Australia or New Zealand without being accredited. Being nationally accredited is a pre-requisite, no doubt about it.”

And, according to Sutherland, the benefits work both ways, accountability is critical, “if you’re an organisation engaging an external consultant to provide a service, you want to be able to demonstrate that you chose someone who was appropriately qualified, because that minimises risk for the organisation.”

Beyond extending the opportunity for the individual, Mills highlights the advantage of accreditation in the context of joining a profession - one that is national and recognised.

One System to Set the Standard

Mills is a strong advocate of the national accreditation system, and practice standards. “If you are going to hold yourself out as a mediator, and there are professional standards and accreditation, then the next step is to obtain the accreditation so that people using your services have the comfort of knowing you’ve been properly trained and accredited. That is, it’s not just you claim to be properly accredited. You have actually been trained and someone has accredited you as being properly trained with a level of expertise that the community is entitled to expect.”

Practical support structures that come with the accreditation system also provide a platform for mediators to draw on should their approach need explanation or support, a view mirrored by Mills and Sutherland.

“We’re operating in the context of standards to which we can refer when a client says, well, why did you do that? Or I don’t think you’re being appropriately impartial. We have a professional framework in which we practise; this is how we measure our impartiality. This is how we measure our delivery of service. We do it according to these standards.” said Sutherland.

It’s clear from those in practice such as Mills and Sutherland that the Standards are far from restrictive, Sutherland adding… “We know and we celebrate that the Standards allow for significant variation in practice. They allow for a flexibility of process that can be moulded to meet client needs.”

“But in the context of core standards, that’s the strength. The duty to act in the interests of all parties equally, the duty to maintain confidentiality, the duty to deliver procedural fairness … We have certain standards that hold us to account and connect us as professionals and that’s hugely valuable.”

Mills’ advice to lawyers interested in mediation training and/or accreditation is simple. “Do it!”

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The Mediator Standards Board is the peak body for mediator training and accreditation in Australia. Overseeing the development and maintenance of the framework and standards for professional training and accreditation, the MSB seeks to ensure quality, consistency, and best practice in the delivery of mediation and dispute resolution services across Australia. Visit www.msb.org.au to learn more.