Family mediation service aims to fill gap left by LASPO

A new family mediation service is aiming to fill the gap left by LASPO by offering fees for a contested divorce of less than £1,000.

Lawyer Supported Mediation will launch on 1 April across London, joining up clients and lawyers who are willing to provide fixed-fee consultations as pre-cursor to lawyer-led negotiations.

Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP and Miles & Partners are already signed up to the scheme's panel. They will be paired up with mediation providers TV Edwards, Camden Mediation, Hopkin Murray Beskine LLP and Accord Family Mediation.

Lawyer Supported Mediation plans to open up a "new private market" of lower-income clients to senior family lawyers who are looking for new fee income post-LASPO.

This format is a more compelling alternative to traditional mediation services, says founder Marc Lopatin, a qualified family mediator.

"We plan to invite London's legal aid family lawyers to refer themselves and their client (Party A) into Lawyer Supported Mediation. We believe we have a better shot at converting Party B to attend mediation because we're not offering standalone mediation," Lopatin told Solicitors Journal.

"The first thing Party B is asked to do is speak free of charge to a senior family lawyer willing to work for an affordable range of fixed legal fees

"It is my role to act as a professional, impartial go-between and shepherd both parties through the pre-instruction phase."

Lawyer Supported Mediation (LSM) also has 70 counsellors on hand to provide couples with the necessary therapy while undergoing the two sessions of mediation.

"The cost of a contested divorce drops significantly when using LSM compared to using the same lawyer on hourly rates of say 225-250 per hour to resolve the same dispute through negotiation," said Lopatin.

"Participating lawyers can fix their fee with more confidence because their input is advice-led with some formfilling. This is much less risky than trying to fix fees for open-ended negotiations. Under the latter, the lawyer inherits all the risk from the client by 'going fixed fee'."

"Many critics of the reforms think they are self defeating; clients are still going to be banging down the door for free legal advice that they can't receive.

"Law firms who sign up to the service will become destinations for LSM, providing them with a unique selling point."

At the moment Lopatin hasn't got any plans to expand the service outside London, where it will pilot for 12-18 months.

"We're going to pilot the system for a year, to demonstrate the concept. All our panel members can be referral parties.

"We can add to the panel when we reach capacity, and approach other law firms in London."