On Thursday 6 December, Herbert Smith Freehills’ London office hosted an event organised by the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA), a cross-professional association established to deliver professional excellence in mediation advocacy. Edwin Glasgow QC, Michael Leathes, Ute A Joas Quinn, Irena Vanenkova (International Mediation Institute (IMI)), and Prof Andrew Goodman tackled the subject of improving standards in mediation advocacy chaired by Alexander Oddy, head of ADR at Herbert Smith Freehills.The importance of mediation advocacy as a distinct skill was highlighted and the procedure for accreditation, training and recognition were all discussed. The event will inform the SCMA’s response to the consultation paper of the IMI’s task force on mediation advocacy, to be concluded in January 2013. IMI invites responses by 31 December 2012 to Emma Ewart, IMI operations manager (emma.ewart@imimediation.org) on its proposed mediation advocacy criteria which can be found here.
