Contracts have been issued to potential suppliers in certain areas of London, Bromley, Bristol, Coventry, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bridgend, Peterborough, Cambridge, Middlesbrough, Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Ashton-under-Lyne, Stockport, Bury, Northampton and Penarth.

It is encouraging to note that, of the 37 potential suppliers, 19 involve solicitors working as mediators either within or outside their practices.To launch the first phase of the pilot, suppliers have been invited by the Board to sign up for the contract first, and then negotiate with the Board the price and volume of mediations to be undertaken, with the proviso that if agreement about this has not been reached within four months the contract will lapse.

The Board has also offered to make an initial payment to suppliers to assist with set-up costs, to be recouped as the contract proceeds.The Law Society has concerns about the contract and continues to negotiate with the Board about price, volume, standards to be applied (which remain undefined), and commitment to consultation on guidance which will form part of the contract documents.In February 1997, the Board published its draft franchise specification for mediation, which sets out the standards against which the Board will audit suppliers.

The Board accepts that the specification is 'aspirational,' and does not anticipate finalising the specification until early 1999.

The Board has committed to consultation on the specification throughout phases I and II of the pilot.

In its present form, the specification places great emphasis on the need for 'ac credited' mediators working with ongoing 'supervision' arrangements.The pilot project will be opened up to other suppliers in the same areas and to new areas throughout the country, over four phases, leading to the on-going arrangements to be in place when the Family Law Act 1996 is implemented in 1999-2000.Solicitors as mediatorsSome solicitors have already done training to become mediators to enable them to practise mediation as a distinct but complementary part of their family law practices.

Many more have expressed interest in undertaking such training.To assist solicitors, the Law Society has published a code of practice for solicitor family mediators and is currently finalising training standards for course providers, which will also assist potential trainees who want to know what a training course will entail.

Once the training standards have been published, the Society will be able to devise a list of approved course providers to assist those wishing to train.In view of the board's intention to contract only with 'accredited' mediators with on-going supervision arrangements, the Law Society is developing policy on the issues of accreditation, reaccreditation, supervision and/or consultancy arrangements and the qualifications of supervisors and/or consultants.

It is also discussing with the Board the option to become an organisation approved by the Board for the purposes of accreditation of solicitor mediators.The Society is also devising practice management standards for solicitors undertaking mediation in their practices.

Publication will be announced in a future edition of the Gazette.

In its specification, the Board has suggested that sole practitioner mediators are unlikely to be able to meet its standards.

The Law Society has clarified with the Board that a solicitor mediator operating within his or her practice would not be considered to be a sole practitioner mediator.Some solicitors working as mediators outside their practices have formed consortia with non-solicitor mediators, and propose to contract with the Board on that basis.

The Law Society is concerned that, due to the requirements of the board's franchise specification, mediators contracting in this way are entering into a partnership arrangement.

In an effort to avoid unwanted partnership arrangements, the Society is working on the production of specimen documentation for use in co-mediation arrangements.Impact on the family solicitorEligibility for mediation has been set at the higher civil legal aid rate and, at least during the first phrase, will not be subject to payment of contributions or to the statutory charge.

Eligibility will be assessed by the mediator at the intake assessment by reference to a key card.

The Board has recognised that mediating couples should have access to their solicitors at any time during the mediation process, but, while recognising the gap between those eligible for mediation and those eligible under the green form scheme, the Board has not committed to the issue of legal aid certificates in respect of complementary legal advice.One option which the Board has canvassed is the provision of block contracts for this purpose either to franchised firms or to non-franchised firms which can demonstrate to the Board a commitment to quality.

It is difficult to see how this could work since a client may have instructed a solicitor in regard to divorce proceedings and in relation to financial matters, while mediation is on-going in relation to, for example children issues.

It would seem impractical for the client to in struct two firms and may lead to duplication of effort and costs.The Society is considering alternative proposals to put to the Board, for example the issue of a legal aid certificate limited to advice and assistance pertaining to the issues discussed in mediation and, if appropriate, to filing a consent application with the court.By virtue of the Legal Aid Act 1988 s 15(3F) and the Civil Legal Aid (General) (Amendment no 2) Regulations 1997, clients are unable to obtain a legal aid certificate for family matters unless they have attended a meeting with a 'recognised mediator' to determine suitability for mediation.

Under rules currently being drafted by the board, certain categories of people may be exempted from the obligation to attend an intake assessment (for example, victims of domestic violence).

If the parties are required to attend an assessment interview and are assessed as suitable, they will be assessed individually for eligibility for legal aid for mediation.At present, the Board has not appointed any recognised mediators, nor has it defined the criteria necessary to gain recognised mediator status.

However, it is anticipated that recognised mediators will be in place in some or all of the pilot areas by Autumn 1997.The Board has indicated that s 15(3F) will then be applied to clients by reference to a catchment area based on postal district.

This will mean that clients reliant on legal aid within that catchment area must attend a mediation intake assessment and, if assessed as suitable, must attempt to settle the dispute through mediation.The Board has confirmed that, even though in all other respects the case may appear to be suitable for mediation, if one of the parties is unwilling to enter into mediation after the initial assessment, he or she will not be refused a legal aid certificate for representation in proceedings.The Board has agreed to notify firms likely to be affected when a recognised mediator has been appointed in an area, so triggering the provisions of s 15(3F).

To receive a copy of the Law Society's code of practice for family mediators or the draft training standards for family mediation send a stamped addressed/DX A4 envelope to Hilary Lloyd, acting secretary to the family law committee, The Law Society 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL (DX 56 London/Chancery Lane).