Are Lawyers the Enemy of Mediation?

People are often suprised to learn that the Mediation Center gets the majority of referrals from laywers.  Three lawyers serve on our Board of Directors.  A significant portion of donors are lawyers.  Nearly always, when we call a lawyer to tell them that their client has been referred to mediation, they say "Great!  That is the best thing for them". 

Why are these lawyers so supportive of a non-profit that serves their potential clients for free?

1. Lawyers want their clients to find resolution.   Some issues aren't really legal issues, or are a combination of legal and non-legal issues.  Take the recent post about Ed and Paul and their gravel driveway. Rules limit the types of things that can be taken into account in court.  Mediaiton allows for more flexibility in how people express themselves and what issue they put on the table.

2. Lawyers know that mediation works.  In her blog, Diane Levin, a Boston attorney and mediator explores Bridging the Divide Between Lawyers and Mediators.  She even suggests that lawyers can "raid a mediator's tool box" to enhance their own negotiation skills.

3. Lots of lawyers are mediators. They know that mediation works because they do it all the time.

4. A lawyer may believe that their client has a better chance of achieving a good outcome in mediation than in the court room.   According to the American Bar Association,

"Participants in mediation report higher satisfaction rates than people who go to court. Because of their active involvement, they have a higher commitment to upholding the settlement than people who have a judge decide for them. Mediations end in agreement 70 to 80% of the time and have high rates of compliance".

Thank you to all the Buncombe County lawyers who work with the Mediation Center. 
I'd love to hear from more of you about why you give your support.