I conducted an online mediation a few days ago – here are my thoughts

  1. All involved were comfortable with the process. This lead to a constructive collaborative and successful day.
  2. There were no “surprises” with the technology or the process as we had separate pre mediation sessions with each side to prepare for the mediation day and understand the technology
  3. Although I’ve trialled some bespoke online mediation platforms, I chose Zoom because most people know it, the technology is widely tested and reliable and was less likely to fail (there were some internet glitches- but nobody seemed bothered and service was quickly restored)
  4. Everyone was more relaxed being at home. There were no stressful journeys around the country and no worries about being late. I find generally that peoples’ punctuality for Zoom meetings is so much better than face to face meetings.
  5. Everyone was comfortable starting with an open session. More comfortable than I often find in a face to face mediation. This was a commercial dispute, with less emotion, and as people weren’t facing each other across the table, there was no “eyeballing”. This meant they were ok to be in the same virtual room. That was hugely helpful as we were able to address the issues direct and promptly.
  6. We did then split into separate rooms. The Zoom breakout room facility worked well and I could pop in to check progress and advise each party how far we’d got – to limit any downtime
  7. We got to a settlement agreement before the end of the day, with a couple of minor points to confirm, in the days after (after a full day on line everyone was tired at the end of the day and we didn’t feel it would be good to ‘press on regardless’)
  8. The journey home was delightful! – no waiting at a cold rainy station late at night!
  9. I believe we’ve crossed the Rubicon. So that even when the Lockdown is relaxed, I anticipate a growth in online mediation alongside traditional face to face mediation
  10. Many Courts are closed during the Lockdown. Those that are open, are struggling to cope with the volume, so many disputes, other than the most urgent, will fail to be heard. Online mediation is an effective solution.