Our Ref:
Your Ref:
Date:

Dear Client

Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM)

It is good practice to have something in writing which sets out the basis on which we are meeting.. This letter therefore contains important information. It is very important that we are both clear about what I will do and how I charge. Openness about charging is an important part of our working relationship.

Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting
Who is undertaking the assessment / You are being assessed by Ian Walker who is a Mediator.
I am Accredited as a Mediator by the Law Society and am authorised to undertake MIAMs meeting.
My Charge / £80 + VAT (£96 total). (If you need a form FM 1 or to countersign a Court Application, there is an additional charge of £40 +VAT (£48 total))
If the meeting is covered by Legal Aid, there will be no charge to you.
What is included? / The Fee will include an assessment meeting of up to one hour. I will assess if mediation may be suitable to assist you resolve your matter. If mediation does proceed, there is a separate charge for each joint mediation meeting. If the meeting is longer than one hour then there is an additional charge of £40 plus VAT for each further half hour or portion.
Qualification for Legal Aid / To be covered by Legal Aid today you will need to sign the relevant Legal Aid form. I will give this to you. You must either prove that you are financially eligible to receive legal aid and provide me with documentary evidence to the standard required by the Legal Aid Agency, or the other party must already have done so. Unless I have the relevant paperwork then there is a charge for our meeting. My interpretation of the legal aid rules is final.
Can we give Legal Advice? / No; A mediator is neutral between the parties and will assist both equally. We can give information, which can be of a legal nature, but this will not constitute actual advice. If we have not met with the other party and there is no potential conflict of interest or confidentiality issue, then it is possible for you to instruct us as Solicitors if you want. That will subject to a separate agreement between us.
Suitability depends on the information you provide / In our assessment we are considering if mediation can be a suitable process We cannot be liable if you withhold information which might have influenced our assessment of suitability of mediation.
Confidentiality / Mediators have a professional duty of confidentiality with exceptions:
  1. Where any person (particularly a child) is at risk of significant harm I have a duty to contact the appropriate authorities.
  2. Where I am required to make disclosure to the appropriate government authority under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and/or relevant money laundering regulations. I may also be under a linked obligation to make such disclosure without informing you and may have to discontinue the mediation without further notice.
  3. Exceptionally, I may disclose personal data in connection with the alleged or established commission of an unlawful act.
  4. Pursuant to the Data Protection Act 1998 you consent to me processing your personal data for the purposes of this Agreement. You understand this includes retaining and storing your personal data for as long as is necessary in connection with this Agreement. I may retain data for research and statistical purposes but on the understanding that if used any information or details about you have been removed so that you cannot be personally identified.
  5. My practice’s quality assurance standards require monitoring of my mediation files. Periodically, my mediation practice supervisor and/or the Legal Aid Agency may have sight of files, but access is strictly controlled and on a similar confidential basis.
  6. See also the section below.

Privilege and Legal Proceedings and openness within mediation /
  1. Subject to paragraph 2 below, all discussions and negotiations in mediation must be conducted on a legally privileged basis. Before the mediation commences the participants must agree in writing that discussions and negotiations in mediation are not to be referred to in any legal proceedings, and that mediators cannot be required to give evidence or produce any notes or records made in the course of the mediation, unless all participants agree to waive the privilege or the law imposes upon mediators an overriding obligation of disclosure upon the mediator.
  2. Participants must agree that all factual information material to financial issues must be provided on an open basis, so that it can be referred to in legal proceedings.
  3. All information or correspondence provided by either participant within the mediation itself should be shared openly and not withheld, except any address or telephone number or as the participants may agree otherwise.
  4. By signing this letter each party agrees that the information provided by each within, or for the purpose of the mediation assessment meeting shall remain private from the other person unless agreed otherwise.
  5. Privilege will not apply in relation to communications indicating that a child or other person is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, or where other public policy considerations prevail.

The record of our meeting/destruction of your file / Under this agreement we will not retain any of your original documents but we will keep a copy of your personal details, record of interview and any document we have assisted you to draft or complete. We may ask you for a copy of any other document you have shown us that is relevant to the advice we give you. If you decide not to instruct us, then our notes will be destroyed after 6 years without further notice. If you have decided not to proceed, then we shall take no further steps.
Payment of our Fees / You must pay our fee on the date of you attendance at our office before you leave. We regret that we cannot offer credit.
Insurance / We have professional indemnity insurance to cover any claim brought by you in the unlikely event that we breach our duty of care to you.
Complaints / If your complaint is about mediation work, then the complaints procedure is as set out in the Agreement to Mediate. At first Instance we will seek to resolve the complaint with you. If this cannot be resolved then the complaint will then be dealt with in accordance with the complaints and disciplinary procedures of Resolution which is a member organisation of the Family Mediation Council.The Resolution Central Office is PO Box 302, Orpington, Kent BR6

Yours sincerely

Ian Walker

Director, Solicitor & Accredited Family Mediator/Accredited Civil Mediator

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Client signature and confirmation of receipt

I confirm that I am in agreement with the above.

Signed:Dated:

Name:

What Is Mediation?

Mediation is

  • Negotiation; persons in dispute will work together to find a solution to their dispute which is acceptable to them both.
  • Assisted Negotiation; the negotiation is assisted by a mediator (sometimes two) who provides a neutral venue and who use their neutrality to assist those in dispute to focus upon the real issues that need to be resolved and to assist them to develop options which in turn can become solutions. The mediator will assist the couple to make informed decisions together.
  • Voluntary; everyone is free to end the mediation at any time. This includes the mediator, if the mediator concludes that discussions are not getting anywhere. Mediation cannot start unless the participants all want it to take place.
  • Safe; the mediator will check with the participants to make sure that the participants are safe before during and after mediation. If arrangements cannot be made to ensure the participants are safe it will not take place.
  • Confidential; Mediation is a process. This fundamentally important because it gives the participants the freedom to openly discuss all options that might lead to a resolution of the dispute. But confidentiality may be waved due to safety issues in respect of the other parties and associated people including children and if there is evidence of money laundering. Financial information is provided by the couple on an open basis and is not confidential.
  • Future Focussed; the past has happened and cannot be changed. Mediation is about find solutions to the problems and disputes arising out of the past. Everyone has choices about what they can do in the future.

The Mediator is

  • Impartial and independent to the couple. The mediator will assist the couple equally.

The Mediator is NOT

  • Able to give legal advice. The participants are able to seek legal advice at any stage and the process. The Mediator will identify questions where the participants should or would be assisted in getting their own independent legal advice. But the mediator is able to give information which will assist the couple to make informed decisions.
  • Is not a Judge. The Mediator will not decide who was right or wrong in past disputes. The job of the mediator is to help the participants find solutions through which everyone can move forward.

The Mediation Process

  • In the model of mediation generally used in family cases the mediator will meet with each of the participants separately in order to assess whether mediation would be suitable to help the couple.
  • There will then be a series of meetings which usually last for 1 ½ hours between the mediators and the participants. Generally there are around 3-4 meetings
  • We will adapt the model to best assist our clients achieve a successful outcome
  • Where there are financial issues the mediator will give the couple forms to complete to assist them in providing full disclosure of financial information with supporting documentation.
  • The Mediator will send the couple a letter after each meeting to confirm what has been proposed to take place between meetings and what both need to do before the next meeting.
  • The Mediator will produce a full summary at the successful end of the mediation process which will assist the Solicitors finalise any legal formalities which may be needed.
  • The Mediator may take notes during mediation sessions. These assist with the preparation of summaries.
  • The Mediator will give details of other complimentary services that are relevant e.g. Relate, welfare benefits supplier,a financial advisor, a child counselling service, an organisation with a Legal Aid Agency Civil Contract in family law; if it is appropriate to do so, in order to assist the participants.
  • The Mediator will ask both participants to sign a legally binding contract at the start of the first meeting called the “Agreement to Mediate”. This sets out the rules of mediation and protects confidentiality. Also contained within this document are details of the mediator’s complaints process. The couple will have been sent a copy of this document before the first meeting.
  • In some cases the Mediator will meet with older children so that their view can be shared

Mediation is not free

  • If a participant can prove they are entitled to receive Legal Aid, then their costs will be paid for by the Legal Aid Agency.
  • If participant’s costs are not met by Legal Aid, then there will be a charge for our work. Please see our website. Charges are based on a rate of £80 + VAT per person per hour.

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Ian Walker Family Law and Mediation Solicitors/MIAM Letter/May 2014