“And so it is with great pleasure that I present to you…”

For those with a penchant for crime dramas, or even those just thoroughly fed up with dealing with the other side’s legal team, the temptation to present a killer fact or piece of evidence at an opening session can be huge. Whilst this may be temporarily satisfying, it misses a key point of mediation: preparation.

People are used to preparing their own case and client for mediation. But it is just as important to allow the other party to prepare their case properly. This means giving them everything they need to be able to assess their risk of proceeding with the litigation and crucially, with sufficient time to allow them to process it. Large organisations can have incredibly slow and clunky mandating processes and some give very tightly restricted mandates. Presenting critical information on the day means that it cannot be taken into account in the mandating process and there is nothing more frustrating than to have an opponent turn up to a mediation with a mandate which is inappropriate.  But processing can also involve time to reflect on the information provided; to adjust expectations; to change long held views about respective merits. By denying parties the chance to consider critical information before a mediation, you risk ruining your own plot line.