ROADS TO Resolution ~ Closure ~ Certainty

Growing Your Mediation Practice by Developing and Promoting You as the Mediator

May 23, 2022 Jean M. Lawler
ROADS TO Resolution ~ Closure ~ Certainty
Growing Your Mediation Practice by Developing and Promoting You as the Mediator
Show Notes Transcript

Even if you’ve been in law practice for decades before switching to a mediation practice, it’s one thing to be an advocate in a mediation, and it’s another to be the neutral.  Developing and promoting you as a mediator involves developing your mediation skills and getting the word out about your mediation practice. In this episode, Jean Lawler–commercial + insurance mediator and arbitrator–talks about mediator training programs, other educational resources for mediators, who to notify and how to do announcements for your mediation practice, how to figure out your niche within mediation, and more.

To connect with Jean Lawler, follow her on LinkedIn or find her at LawlerADR.com

To read the full episode transcript please see the Podcast Website.

Links to resources mentioned in the show:

Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution https://law.pepperdine.edu/straus/

Harvard’s Program on Negotiation https://www.pon.harvard.edu/

Edwards Mediation Academy https://edwardsmediationacademy.com/

Clubhouse https://www.clubhouse.com/

Willworkforfood.news https://www.willworkforfood.news/ (Jean serves as a volunteer moderator for this initiative to help raise donations for food banks around the world.)

Law360 https://www.law360.com/



[intro music]

JEAN LAWLER:

Hello and good day. It’s so nice to be with you here today. Thanks for joining me. I'm Jean Lawler, and I’m the host of your podcast–ROADS TO Resolution ~Closure and ~Certainty. As a mediator, I am very honored to be invited into other people's lives for a few hours. Lives, like all of our lives, are shaped by the many roads that have brought us to our “today”, roads leading to the unexpected, and roads that hold the promise of “tomorrow”. 

And so speaking of “tomorrows”, let’s finish up on my presentation and talking about getting your mediation practice off the ground. So we’ve already gone through the logistical parts of things. You know, getting your office set up, that sort of thing. Now, how about getting some business, getting you as the mediator, off and running.  First of all, as I said before, treat it like a business, because it is. And if you keep that in mind, then you’re certain to do well.

First of all, you of course need some training, and I’m sure you know that. There are a number of training courses out there. Some states have their own. Some states have their own certifications. From a “university types” of standpoint, Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and Harvard’s Program on Negotiation are two of the top training programs. There are many many others though. Edwards Mediation Academy is an excellent one. There’s just so many. So just find one that fits your schedule, your budget, your location, your timing, and get going and get your training.

Then, so you get your training–which generally needs to be about a 40-hour training to comply with various requirements and other situations. And then shadow other mediators. Mediators are a very nice group of people, they’re very generous and they’re happy to help with new mediators. I know I was certainly the beneficiary of that, and I’ve been then on the giving end as well. So shadow other mediators. You can see the different styles they have, see how they approach situations, and ultimately you’re going to want to find your own situation. Even if you’ve been in practice for thirty or forty years before switching your practice to a mediation practice, you know, it's one thing to be an advocate in a mediation, it's another to be the neutral. So, it’s a wonderful thing, and find your niche on that.

Then you, of course, have to get the word out. If nobody knows what you’re doing, then you’re not going to get hired. So depending on what your area is, look around and figure out who you should be telling what you’re doing–certainly other lawyers. Lawyers you’ve worked with over the years–whether they’ve been opposing counsel or on the same side. Lawyers are generally the ones who hire mediators, not the clients–insurance companies or risk management offices, departments of big companies. They may have input in and they may very well be the ones to say who the mediator’s going to be, but in my experience it’s mostly the lawyer. So keep that in mind. Call, write, invite for a coffee–now that we can go out in-person again. 

Social media…I do mention Clubhouse. There are a lot of lawyers and mediators are on Clubhouse, and you can find some interesting things there. 

Networking functions, professional association meetings... Again your fellow counsel, opposing counsel…You might want to place an ad for the first year or so on a local bar association magazine, just you know, if you were in that association. That way, maybe you reach more people. 

Do announcements, definitely with email for starters because you can attach your vCard to that, but then also through social media. Maybe a hard copy, people do like to get mail in this day and age of so much electronic communication. So those are the sorts of things…Basically, let the people who might be able to hire you know what you’re doing now.

On your email signature, make sure that you’ve got that so it says what you do, not just the words “mediator/arbitrator”. As I said in an earlier episode here on setting things up, make sure you include your website, your LinkedIn, other social media links, and if you do have an online calendar, include your link to the online calendar. 

I would really emphasize the value of social media marketing.  I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but I can promise you, you create a whole new network of people–a community really. And work does come from that, but especially with online mediations, your practice can be nationwide or international. Whereas before maybe it needed to be limited, more limited, maybe, to your state or your local geographic area. Emphasize your niche if you have one, it's much better to be able to market yourself for the type of mediation that you do. 

Write and present. Write articles. Present the same as you did if you were a lawyer in private practice before. That’s certainly, you know, I assume that’s much of what you did. 

From a logistical standpoint, figure out a schedule for yourself. Do you want to keep one day a week for in-office activities or whatever? My take on it would be–at the outset anyway–while you’re setting up your practice, if someone wants to hire you on a Monday, then let them hire you on a Monday. It’s just fine. And be available. I have heard very experienced mediators say that for a newer mediator, just being available to take a mediation on short notice is key. And certainly I have had a number of those, and it's been my pleasure and honor to be able to provide that service on short notice. So those are a way. 

Consider whether or not you want to go on a court panel. Depending on your jurisdiction, if you do have a federal court panel, that may be one that you would seriously want to consider. Whether or not you want to go on a regular for-profit panel–again I think that’s geographically sensitive. Or do you want to be independent and on your own? Again that goes back to you, your practice, who and how, who you’re going to get work from and how you’re going to get it. Remember, it's all an evolving process. 

Focus on your strengths and your areas of competence. Think about the work you’ve spent the last number of years, the last few decades, maybe, doing. Are you a “specialist” so to speak? Did you have a niche in a certain kind of law–health, insurance, whatever? Think of all the mediations you attended, maybe, as a practicing lawyer, as an advocate. What can you do to make yourself provide a service to replace those mediators that you went to who are now going to be retiring sooner than later and fill that niche or the new niches with the new lines of work that are out, that never existed before, even maybe when you were in practice? I mean, think of a lot of the, you know, the cryptocurrency, the NFTs, a lot of the tech areas, health–it's just a constantly, the law is a constantly evolving creature, constantly evolving thing, and as a mediator you need to be able to do that as well. 

So ultimately, there are a lot of free educational resources out there–willworkforfood.news. Every week they provide a fantastic program at no cost to you, and I would highly encourage that. Maybe sign up for the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation weekly email that comes. Find these resources, they don’t have to cost you a lot of money. I do subscribe to Law360, I think that is a lot of information that's very valuable. 

Ultimately by becoming a mediator, you’re becoming a peacemaker as your main profession, and you know, certainly, it's a very admirable profession. And, welcome. Ultimately remember why you are doing this and enjoy the ride. I’m sure you’ll be great. 

Thanks so much. Thanks for joining me today. You can follow me on LinkedIn, you can see my YouTube channel for the ROADS TO Resolution ~Closure and ~Certainty. I do have this podcast and my website is LawlerADR.com. Thanks so much, and goodbye. 

[outro music]