Is mediation the answer? Anne Barlow Professor of Family Law and Policy, University of Exeter

Crises for family justice  40% of marriages end in divorce in England and Wales and relationship breakdown is even higher among cohabiting couples – a fact of life  Legal Aid is being withdrawn from private family law disputes – legal advice & court time are expensive!  Yet important (often contentious!) issues like division of family assets/debts and arrangements for children need to be decided

Family Justice Review  Suggested solutions include On-line information hub for those divorcing/separating Nudge more couples towards agreement Reduced involvement of the family courts – compulsory mediation? Greater use of (cheaper) mediation, where (trained?) mediators ‘facilitate’ agreement between the parties through mediation sessions and ?enhance communication and co-parenting

Is mediation the answer?  Lack of research evidence on ADR  ESRC-funded project will provide an up to date picture of national awareness and patterns of experiences of three forms of out of court Family Dispute Resolution currently available in the UK – Mediation, Solicitor negotiation, and Collaborative law

Research questions  How widely used is each process, and how embedded has it become in the public mind as a means of resolving family disputes?  How positive or negative have people's experiences of the different processes been in the short and longer term?  What norms of family dispute resolution are embedded in the different alternatives?  Are particular alternatives more or less appropriate for particular kinds of cases or parties?

Preliminary findings  Nationally representative findings from omnibus survey show, good awareness of ADR options  Of those who had separated/divorced since % took up solicitor negotiations 58% took up mediation  65% satisfied with solicitor negotiations  41% satisfied with mediation  Good enough family justice?