Proposals contained in the government's white paper on divorce could herald the arrival of a new type of lawyer - the legal mediator.

Legislation aimed at pushing couples away from solicitors and into the arms of mediators is expected to come before Parliament in time for the autumn session.Under the new law, couples filing for divorce will be expected to spend a year 'cooling off' during which time they will be encouraged to come to a mediated settlement.The change in emphasis from fault-finding divorces to mutually agreed settlements will also mean a redirection of existing legal aid funds from family lawyers to mediators.

The financial arguments alone may leave family lawyers with little choice but to embark on a new career in mediation.But solicitors already skilled in providing a service based on an adversarial legal system will find it difficult to retrain as neutral, non-partisan mediators.

Moreover, in the same way that many couples are not suitable for mediation, some solicitors may discover they are not temperamentally equipped to deal with the emotional demands of mediation.So is the Lord Chancellor asking too much from the profession? Mediator and solicitor Alastair Logan does not think so.For the best part of the last 21 years he has represented the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven in their fight to reverse miscarriages of justice.

Last week he finally boxed up the 300 files relating to those cases.

Since the final Maguire case concluded last year, Mr Logan has turned his full attention to something he was planning to do 21 years ago before the tragic events following the Guildford bombing changed his life.

And, in pursuit of his ambition, earlier this year he went to the USA where he successfully completed a further mediation course.Today, proudly hanging alongside his solicitor's practising certificate is his qualified mediator's certificate.

He still works just outside Guildford but it is from the tranquil setting of his own country house, specially chosen to meet the mediation requirements of troubled couples, that he and his wife Pat began their mediation partnership, called Solutions, a year ago.

His niche practice comprises a pioneering two-tier system offering a mediation service and a family law practice.He believes solicitors have a distinct advantage over non-lawyer mediators.

Couples unable to reach an agreement will still have to go to court, so Mr Logan stresses the importance of lawyers being able 'to test the reality' of what couples actually decide to do in the mediation settlement.Because settlements arrived at by mediation can be much cheaper and usually quicker than the ones brought about by litigation couples may well be drawn to the mediation route outlined in the white paper.But Mr Logan believes the Family Mediators Association (the solicitor-run body) and National Family Mediation (the social workers association) will need to formulate national standards for training mediators before the Lord Chancellor will make public money available.Nigel Shepherd, chairman of the Solicitors Family Law Association, says this is something already being considered.

'The two organisations are talking hard and working towards [forming] an institute.' He adds: 'The government wants to be sure that there are properly trained mediators, safeguards, insurance supervision and accreditation procedures,' and believes the institute could fill this need.The real danger at the moment is that anyone can set up as a mediator.

Mr Shepherd believes there are already one or two examples of solicitors mediating without any training.Mr Logan admires the US mediation system whose training methods are more advanced than our own.

'Their training techniques are brutal - but my god, you really learn,' he says.

But he warns of the scepticism still surrounding the subject even in the USA: 'Although the Americans have been using mediation for 20 years there is still considerable lack of understanding.'The Solicitors Family Law Association has already voiced its concern that the new legislation may be attempting to cut out the lawyer from divorce.

And Mr Logan is concerned that the exclusion of lawyers will leave individuals ignorant of their rights and therefore unable to make the best use of mediation.

'You do not have to use a lawyer to go and fight in court.

You can simply be made aware of your rights,' says Mr Logan.It would appear the legal mediator is well placed to provide this kind of service.

However, a solicitor acting as a mediator to a couple cannot give legal advice to the same couple; this would amount to a conflict of duty.The role of the mediator received high-profile publicity last year when it was revealed that the Middle East peace deal was brokered by two Scandinavian professional mediators.

Mr Logan explains: 'Mediation is all about the clients' solutions, all we do is manage the process whereby they find solutions.

It is not for us to say you ought to do this.

We are not judges or even arbitrators.'However, Mr Logan admits that some people will reach decisions that the mediator may not regard as being sensible.

'But if it works for them, and providing it is not so grossly unfair against one party, then any solution they reach is likely to last.'By concentrating on marriages Mr Logan feels the Lord Chancellor has ignored a 'vast and growing number' of people who are in unmarried relationships which break down.

'Over 30% of children born next year will be born outside wedlock.

People in these relatio nships can also benefit from mediation.

We provide a service for people whose relationships have broken up.

They can be heterosexual, homosexual or any kind of family relationship.'He is sceptical about the recent conversion of the Lord Chancellor to mediation solutions in marriages.

'He may be a man who by nature and philosophy believes in mediation, but he certainly did not show any interest in it until he was forced by the treasury to look at the legal aid situation.'The Logans' commitment has meant they have waived the fee in certain cases and have already injected £10,000 into the business.

'I would be surprised,' admits Mr Logan, 'if we break even in two years.'For the future, the Logans are planning to expand by opening a commercial mediation service.

Says Mr Logan: 'They do say if you can do family mediation you can do any form of mediation.'