One thing that frustrates me about the way many barristers and lawyers prepare for mediation...

They prepare extensively for the legal issues to achieve a settlement.

The position paper.
The authorities.
The settlement range.

It's expected.
Common practice.

But the law isn't usually the hardest part.
The people in the room are.

The client who has unrealistic expectations.
The combative, 'certain' lawyer.
The decision-maker who won't move.

None of that is unusual.

Most of it's predictable.

Yet many prepare as though they'll just deal with it when it happens.

The behaviour was predictable, but nobody prepared for how they would handle it.

Instead, they get pulled into the very behaviour they're trying to deal with.

They become frustrated or angry.
More positional.
Less curious - more certain.
They push harder when they should be asking better questions.

None of it looks significant on its own.

But it compounds.

Offers slow.
People become more entrenched.
Clients start losing confidence.
Opportunities to move the mediation forward get missed.

And before long, the mediation becomes harder than it needed to be.

Not because the legal arguments weren't good enough.

Because the behaviour was predictable, and nobody had prepared how to handle it.

That's why I created:
→→The Exact 3 Things High-Performing Barristers and Lawyers Prepare Before Mediation.

A short guide on what effective negotiators prepare before pressure starts changing the room.

Download it here (limited time)