What have mediation and Rolex watches got in common? They are both treated with suspicion by potential purchasers if their prices are too low.
You’re in the market for a new watch. You’ve decided you deserve only the best: a Rolex. You want the best price, and so you search Google. You’re looking for a combination of reputable seller and low price. But you’re no fool. You can spot a fake just by the price alone and you steer well clear of those that are simply too cheap. You end up buying from a well-known online retailer. They’re not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but you can be sure the watch will be the genuine article.
As a family mediator, I experience scepticism about the prices I charge. I have clients telling me that their solicitors have given them cost estimates of between £15,000-£75,000 for their disputes. Assuming an hourly rate of around £200, they must know that this means their case is likely to take 75-375 hours. They believe that they have a very difficult case. They also know that their solicitor is very good and has done their job for many years. They haven’t forgotten either, that there are two solicitors involved.
So when I tell them that their matter may take up to 10 hours of mediation, with me and a financial mediator, for example, at a cost to them each of around £1,500, I can tell that some of them think that they can smell a rat. How can anything that inexpensive be genuine? If it’s that reliable and successful, why do their solicitors have to charge so much more?
There’s no easy answer. Clients can be reassured by their lawyers, but not every lawyer hoping to earn £75,000 from a case will want to see mediation succeed. The difference between my examples is that mediation is a genuine and tested service whereas a fake Rolex is, well, fake. Looking at it another way, with mediation users arguably get genuine Rolex quality for the price of a fake. As the public become more aware of mediation, I’m convinced the bargain that mediation offers, in terms of outcome, pace and price will become very clear, very soon.
I am Stephen G Anderson and I am a genuine professional mediator.
01473 487427
07702948410
stephen@andersonfamilymatters.com
www.andersonfamilymatters.com