What follows are 12 mediation advocacy tips for Ontario lawyers at each stage of the mediation process from deciding whether to mediate, all the way to minutes of settlement and beyond. The tips are intended to apply to the mediation of most civil disputes, but they are also applicable to other forms of mediation with necessary modifications for procedure and practice. The tips have been selected from the materials of a CPD program I developed last year called Excelling at Mediation Advocacy: A Master Class for Junior to Mid-Career Lawyers, along with a forthcoming “companion” e-book titled 40 Mediation Advocacy Tips for Ontario Lawyers.
Finally, the tips are based upon my experience of attending mediations as a general civil litigator -- and more recently as a settlement counsel (dispute resolution lawyer) – for more than 20 years, and as a mediator for more than 10 years. They also draw on themes and topics I have written and spoken about over the few years.
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