Opinions of our clients and the Courts
Lancashire Family Mediation Service strives to offer impartial assistance to aid those involved in family breakdown to communicate better with one another and reach their own informed decisions about some or all of the issues arising between them.
What do our Clients Say?
People judge our Service on how they are treated. They ask themselves the following about the Service:
- Do the staff act in a professional manner?
- Are they genuinely concerned about my best interest?
- Do I feel welcomed? Do I feel safe?
- Are my views and opinions listened to?
- Does the Service produce results that are value for money?
Clients should always be able to answer positively to these questions!
Here are a few examples of client comments of how they viewed their Mediation sessions:
"The mediator was extremely helpful and created an atmosphere where it felt safe to discuss some difficult issues. Thank you"
"The Mediator was very good and helpful in making sure that both parties had the opportunity to air their views"
"Very good under difficult circumstances"
"The mediators were helpful and friendly"
"The Mediators were excellent and I would like to say a special thanks to them"
National Audit Office
The National Audit Office report: Legal Aid and Mediation for people involved in family breakdown (March 2007) said:
Family disputes that are resolved through mediation are cheaper, quicker and, according to academic research, less acrimonious than those that are settled through the courts.
What do the Courts say about Family Mediation?
Extract from a speech published on the Judicial Intranet – Sir Mark Potter, President of the Family Division, speaking at a world congress of international family lawyers in Belfast, 28th August – concluded his speech:
Finally, I think this an appropriate occasion to make clear that I and my fellow judges, in common with those of many other jurisdictions, are becoming increasingly convinced that money spent by governments in encouraging mediation and funding mediation schemes to enable parents to resolve their private law disputes, particularly involving children, short of the court door is money well spent and we look with envy towards Australia and New Zealand where the governments of those countries have recently acted decisively in that direction.
- Mediation reduces the levels of distress suffered by children. It is now appreciated just how upsetting court proceedings between parents are for children: research in 2001 showed that children involved in protracted cases experience high levels of stress comparable with those found in public law proceedings: 46% had significant levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties.
- Mediation also reduces delay in the resolution of the parties? differences; by intervening early, and enabling the parties to reach agreement, parents can consider what is best for their children before they become entrenched and adversarial in their approach to family breakdown. Cases removed from the court system also reduce delay for others who cannot resolve their differences without a court hearing
- Finally, as government should realise mediation is cost-effective. It has high success rates and is far less expensive than litigation, which necessarily involves lawyers as well as expensive judge and court time.
