How can family lawyers effectively represent their clients in mediation and conciliation processes?

The role of family lawyers in non-adversarial processes such as mediation and conciliation is quite different from that in adversarial litigation processes. This article conceptualises the non-adversarial role that family lawyers can play in mediation and conciliation processes to assist their clients to reach resolution of their disputes. We will highlight how this non-adversarial role will differ depending on whether the process is a facilitative or advisory process. In facilitative processes mediators merely assist with the communication process and do not suggest options or give views about appropriate settlement outcomes. In advisory processes mediators or conciliators use the benefit of their legal expertise to express views about suitable settlement outcomes, often suggesting a range of outcomes within which courts will be likely to make orders. We term this range the 'boundaries of resolution' and explain the key role of family lawyers to assist in this range being determined accurately by thorough preparation of their clients and cases