Multi-Party Mediations

· One involved four parties with a difficult dispute over a number of boundaries. After a preliminary meeting with solicitors and a brief site inspection, the parties and their advisers met for a day of mediation in the course of which a settlement package was achieved.

· Another arose out of a housing development and involved legal, banking and partnership interests. Mediation took place in a series of meetings over a few weeks resulting in overall resolution of several litigations and long-standing business issues.

· A third mediation involved 6 parties, 49 participants, several professional firms, a number of complex factual and legal issues and a multi-million pound claim. A final overall settlement was achieved in 4 days of mediation avoiding the prospect of many weeks of litigation and millions of pounds in costs.

These are just examples of the impact which mediation is now having in commercial, professional, personal and organisational disputes in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe. The transformation in the past three years is fascinating.

· Several hundred legal and other advisers have now been involved in mediation in Scotland building a strong collective body of knowledge and experience. Many are using mediation on a regular basis. Leading counsel have often been engaged in more complex disputes.