Dear Colleagues
The College has decided to create a position of CEO to help give direction to the College. The role is to support the work of the board including its vision and strategy as well as ensuring sustainability, compliance, the mitigation of risk and building strategic partnerships with a range of stakeholders and the sustainable development of the College.
At least that’s what my role profile says!
So I guess you may have two immediate questions, (1) who am I and (2) how much of my membership fee is going towards my pay!
To answer the second question first the answer is none. The position is entirely voluntary and I’m in the same position as the directors of the board, who give up their time for the College and to help support it and the members for free!
If you want the long winded answer to the first question just look me up on LinkedIn but in summary I qualified as a solicitor nearly 30 years ago, specialising in family and child care. In the early 90’s I became one of the first mediators in the UK to be approved under the pilot scheme with the then Legal Aid Board to offer legally aided mediation and ran the first pilot. I subsequently trained as a commercial mediator with CEDR and the ADR Group. I left private practice and joined ICAEW heading up their conciliation service and developed a mediation service as well as working with the MOJ on renewing the Governments ADR pledge. I then rang a family mediation service in Milton Keynes until serious health issues regretfully forced me to cut back my work.
On second thoughts maybe that’s the long winded who am I!
Referring back to my role profile, one area and it maybe implicit, but I intend to make central, is what can the College do to help its members. This is where I need your help.
Mediation has been around for a long time but only relatively recently has it become more the norm, at least to the legal profession and some companies, but the general public still has little knowledge of the alternatives to litigation and its benefits. There are changes coming, the green paper on SEND mediation, the recent changes proposed by the Government for civil claims under £10K to be diverted automatically to mediation and the MIAM which helps divert some family disputes to mediation.
However, I am keen to know what members need from your professional body.
The College has an unrivalled position as a standard setting body; while we are one of the founding members of the Family Mediation Council we are unique as we represent all types of mediation and our membership fees are very competitive! I acknowledge we aren’t perfect! the College has had its struggles, in particular the website until recently has been poor and as consequence problems in referring work via “find the mediator” option. However, I assure you that the current Board (and see below for more on that) is working hard for your benefit and despite its limited financial resources, we need to grow: maybe to look at offering other member benefits, such as the reduced insurance rates we’ve offered through our Insurers, whether its specialised training, CPD or other such similar help, to raise the awareness of mediation to the public and business and as a result generate work for members. And my own goal to have you recognised fully as a Professional to the same degree as lawyers and others you may come across in your work.
So please respond to the College to help yourself, colleagues and the College to maintain and grow as the mediation body:
- We would welcome the addition of new directors to the Board. If you have ideas, criticisms or otherwise, here is your opportunity to do something about it! We have a few vacancies for directors-personally I am interested in your personal and business skills just as much as your mediation experience. It is as I’ve said unpaid but there is a real opportunity to be at the forefront of developing your profession.If you are interested please email our admin dept at admin@collegeofmediators.co.uk with the subject heading “Directors Appointments” and the admin team will send you the details of how to apply.
- As I’ve said above, we are not perfect, so if there are any concerns or criticisms I want to know about them, especially if there is a familiar and constant theme, then I can prioritise the resolution of that issue.
- I would like to hear your ideas and what it is you would like the College to offer by way of services or support to help you and your mediation practice grow.
Please email me on points 3 and 4 at admin@collegeofmediators.co.uk marked for my attention.
Thanks:
I would like to thank firstly the current members of the Board; they all have fulltime work of one sort or another, it’s a voluntary role, no pay and despite that they are all fully committed to the College and its members. Secondly I would like to thank Elizabeth Wright and her admin team at Admin and More, for all their hard work and when you contact us, it’s Elizabeth and her team who will do their very best to help you with your query. Please remember they are not mediators, but they are very good administrators, so if they can’t answer your query immediately, they will know someone who can! Last but not least I would also thank the Colleges Legal Advisor, Tracey Owen barrister and mediator, for her excellent and carefully considered legal advice to the College.
If you have managed to read to the end of this well done and if you have any strength left, please think about helping us to help you in one way or another.
It’s a very dangerous and uncertain world out there, new disputes seem to arise every day, but if our profession-you- can help bring some resolution to those issues, then between the College and its members, maybe we can help show there is some light at the end of this very long dark tunnel.
Yours sincerely
Paul J Turner
Solicitor (non practising) Llb Hons
CEO College of Mediators
Accredited Mediator CEDR,FMA.ADR Group and LSC