I have often been forced down the lawyer path of giving construction dispute advice with the preamble of βon the one hand, and on the otherβ. I was thus somewhat surprised to read that Helen Garthwaite (23 June, page 80) has the confidence to take a firm view.
Garthwaite was pleading the case for judge mediators and had noted that βinterestingly some mediation clauses specify that the mediator shall be β¦ a lawyerβ. This, she suggested, was because clients βloveβ judges.
Well, βinterestinglyβ, her article began with the word βcynicsβ and she should therefore not be surprised that the interpretation I put on this βlawyer-preferenceβ is not that clients value judges but that lawyers, having lost income to arbitration or adjudication, are seeking to embed themselves in mediation and thus guarantee their pensions.
John Wilding, John Wilding & Co
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