Mediators: A UK-Wide Overview

Ten Things I Rate About Mediation

What will you find when you go to mediation in the UK in 2026? Bear in mind, it is now a question of “when” not “if”. More disputes are mediating. According to the Eleventh CEDR Mediation Audit published by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (the “CEDR Audit”) in June 2025, there were 21,000 civil and commercial mediations in 2023‒24 ‒ a rise of 24%. Most mediators expect this to increase.

So, if you want to get the best out of the mediation process, here are ten things to keep in mind.  

Mediation takes place in person

In-person mediations are returning. According to the CEDR Audit, 62% of mediations take place in person. However, online is an established way of mediating, not just a quick fix to cope with COVID-19. Lawyers and mediators seem to prefer in-person mediation, compared with their clients, who prefer online mediation for its greater flexibility and the chance to reduce cost and disruption.

Mediation is quasi-optional

Robust judicial encouragement to mediate through cost sanctions has been replaced by compulsion. Following the Court of Appeal’s 2023 decision in Churchill, the Civil Procedure Rules have now been amended to allow the court to proactively advance ADR (Part 1.1(2)(f)).

Courts are ordering parties to go to mediation even after contested hearings where one of the parties resisted. The Superdry* case showed the way. And, yes, it settled.

If you are thinking that mediation is not for your dispute, ask yourself how bold and brave you want to be in saying no.

Mediation is flexible

Mediation is more flexible; moving online allows this.  No need to take a whole day out of your life to attend an off-site venue and spend hours in a room with your team broken by occasional visits from the mediator. Mediation is less like immersive therapy and more like a pool party when you can dip in and out.

Instead of being present all day you can log in when required. There is less downtime. When the mediator is not in your room, you can do other work. And there is no travel.

Plus, new models are emerging, as follows.

Paused mediation

Mediation does not have to last eight consecutive hours. No need to keep soldiering on just because everybody is there and has booked a day out of their diaries. Instead, you can pause the mediation, rather than terminate it. Put it on hold to give yourself a chance to reflect, obtain information or advice, and reconvene. This is much easier to arrange online and far more effective.

Half-day mediation

Half-day mediations are popular. In practice, they often overrun by an hour. Parties are tempted to negotiate up to the four-hour deadline and then spend an hour documenting the settlement. But not always. And they still save time and money.

A well-known mediator and thought leader described them as “unbelievably parsimonious”. Well, he might, but users see them as better value.

Hybrid

Some participants are physically in the same place but communicate with the others online. Again, this is increasingly the method of choice.

Mediation is effective

87% of mediations are settled either on the day or shortly thereafter.

One of the disadvantages of mediation is that there is no guaranteed outcome. With litigation or arbitration, you might not like the outcome, but you will have one at the end of the process. 87% is not the same as 100% but you obtain your settlement much more quickly and cheaply.

Although you can be compelled to attend mediation, no one can force you to settle. Judging by the CEDR statistics, no one needs to be forced to settle. Most people want to.

Mediation is good value

Mediation is much cheaper than arbitration or litigation. The sooner that you mediate, the more you save.

Mediators are good value compared with arbitrators. According to CEDR, the average mediator fee for one day mediation is GBP1,597 for less experienced mediators and GBP4,044 for more experienced ones. This has dropped since 2016, when the average fee was GBP4,500. Mediators continue to complain that they are the usually worst-paid person in the room.

Mediation is competitive

More mediators are being trained and most of the new ones are not lawyers. Overall, about 53% of commercial mediators are legally trained. For users, this means more choice and lower fees.

Many mediators complain about not having enough work. According to the CEDR Audit, 45% of mediators who call themselves full-time do fewer than ten mediations a year. So, do check on mediators’ experience and activity levels when choosing.

Mediation is now digital

Online mediation is now an established way of mediating and is expected to grow as courts order more mediations.

The Vos-inspired digital justice system has inevitably not yet arrived. Judicial and ministerial disappointment about progress has been expressed. If mediation is to be an embedded part of the judicial system, it will inevitably become more digital.

Right now, it is not. Clients and lawyers use AI more in mediations than mediators do ‒ mainly in preparing their material for the mediation. No one seems to be using AI much during the mediation, but that is changing. According to the CEDR, 64% of mediators are considering using AI tools within their mediation practice, and 59% are using them (albeit still mainly for administration). New tools are being developed. Watch this space.

Mediation is confidential

Mediation agreements stipulate that what is said at the mediation cannot be shared with anyone who has not signed the mediation agreement or is not a legal adviser. Mediators promise the parties that what they are told in private sessions will remain confidential. This internal and external confidentiality is seen as vital.

However, courts have been going behind mediation confidentiality for some years. If the court deems it to be in the interests of justice to learn what happened at the mediation, they will compel those who were there to tell them what happened. That includes mediators.

Costs information given at mediations is not confidential.

Technology has brought its own complexities. Recording devices are everywhere. They are easy to use and hide but, of course, you will be in breach of the mediation agreement if you use them.

In practice, is it a problem? Not in my experience so far. But we all need to be more careful about what we say, when we say it, and how we say it. And this applies not just in mediation.

Mediation is demanding

Mediation has now been here for more than 30 years; people are used to it. You need to up your game. Rocking up to a mediation as if you were going for a meeting or a court hearing does not work. To get the best out of the process, invest in some training in negotiation and mediation advocacy

Mediation is evolving

Do not be surprised if there is no joint opening session. Although some well-known mediators insist on holding one, clients complain about wasting time.

Remember that clients are paying for the mediation and they decide with their lawyers which process they want, not the other way round.

Position papers are also falling out of fashion as the whole process becomes more streamlined. People rely on pleadings and correspondence. It makes no difference to the outcome.

Final word

Some things have not changed. You go to mediation to make peace, not war. Look for the common ground, not the battleground.