Surely the reluctance of solicitors to advise their clients to engage in mediation (see [2005] Gazette, 3 November, 16) is because the results of some court-based schemes are not encouraging.

Exeter County Court has been running a court-based scheme for two years now, with the mediation providers coming from a number of sources.


The settlement rates are widely different, and at the last review there was evidence that some of the providers were just not producing results that would enable practitioners to recommend their clients to engage in mediation where the less successful providers were involved.


If only the more successful providers were allocated cases, the settlement rates would be highly satisfactory and more parties would be prepared to mediate.


The Civil Justice Council had a look at the situation two years ago, and because of the low settlement rates in the London County Court it was decided not to recommend a change in the rules to make mediation an opt-out procedure rather than the present opt-in practice.


We at Devon & Exeter Law Society have also found that by running our small-claims mediation scheme, local practitioners have become more aware of the benefits of mediation and more likely to recommend it to their clients. However, solicitors from outside the area, with perhaps experience of the London scheme, are much less keen.


One London court (not the Central County Court) has agreed to try the Exeter model and others may follow suit when perhaps our experience may be shown to be beneficial to the litigation process and mediation becomes more widely acceptable.


Jeremy Ferguson, chairman, Devon and Exeter Law Society mediation committee, Bideford, Devon