Mediation Advocacy is the technique of presenting and arguing a client's position, needs and interests in a non-adversarial way. It recognises the following:
Lawyers who understand and master the skills of mediation advocacy are far more successful than lawyers who conduct themselves as trial advocates in the ADR environment. The mediation paradigm brightly spotlights the client’s role as key decision-maker and the mediator’s job as neutral facilitator in the process. Yet, surprisingly little attention is given to educating lawyers to be effective mediation advocates and the very practical fact that they remain the driving force in any mediation proceeding. The objective of this article is to inform and persuade the successful trial lawyer to develop the necessary skills to be a successful mediation lawyer.
Literature: The 9 Principles of Very Successful Mediating Lawyers By Steven L. Schwartz