Advice for Mediators
on working withTechnology

Centre for Effective
Dispute Resolution
100 St. Paul's Churchyard,London
EC4M 8BU+44 (0)20 7536 6060
www.cedr.com
adr@cedr.com
Advice for Mediators on working with technology

Summary

CEDR has created the following guide for civil and commercial mediators
to consider when conducting mediations online or by telephone.
Mediating using technology has the same fundamental principles andmethods as standard face-to-face mediation but certain differences need tobe thought about.
This guidance is not intended to be prescriptive but should enable mediators
to be aware of some of the practical issues that can arise.

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Advice for Mediators on working with technology

Before the mediation

01

A mediator needs to have an appropriate professional email account which issecure and can handle large files. A free web email account is unlikely to beappropriate. Online file sharing systems also need to be avoided unless they
are secure.

02
03

The mediator and the parties need to be clear when the mediation has begun
and what communications are confidential and without prejudice. This should
be expressly stated at the top of emails.
If the mediation is going to take place remotely or by telephone, the mediatorshould still make the same effort as in a normal mediation to contact the parties
beforehand and discuss the case with them privately. Email correspondence
is not likely to be sufficient.

04

Similarly to how a mediator would confirm venue details and needs with aparty, the mediator should send in advance to the parties information about
how to use any technology and check that the parties know how to use it andare comfortable to do so. If the parties are not, the mediator should devise analternative method.

05

It is desirable that the mediator is in charge of the technology system,
however this is not always possible, for example where a firm is providing thevirtual platform. In this instance, the mediator should speak with the firm
about how to control the mediation (eg. setting up virtual meetings etc) andhave neutrality and confidentiality, i.e. the mediator needs to check how any
meeting between the mediator and the other party is private and confidential.

06

A mediator should never use technology that they are uncomfortable with or
don’t know how to use.

Advice for Mediators on working with technology

3During the mediation

07

The mediator should be aware of the effect of technology for process andrelationship. When using online technology, rapport takes longer to gain andcan disappear more quickly. This is why it is important to have both premediation and early rapport building sessions as much as is possible.

08

If using an online platform with live video, such as Skype you should agree
in advance whether to use video throughout, not at all or at times. Video
conferencing is more stilted than real-life and the mediator should be awarethat parties can feel under scrutiny. At the same time, video conferencing
can be a benefit to parties, to see that the other side are real people. The
mediator needs to make a judgement call on this, rather than just having adefault option of video on or off.

09

Confidentiality and privacy can be less clear in an online context and so themediator may need to be more forthright about confirming ground rules atthe start of the session. The mediator needs to feel confident that parties
aren’t having private conversations with individuals who are not formallypart of the mediation, making extensive notes or transcripts and that themediation is not being recorded.

10The mediator needs to check that people are engaged as it’s easier to become
distracted if communicating remotely. This is especially the case if the party
hasn’t left the office and may have other work to look at. The mediator should
therefore when leaving parties for an extended period of time either set anecessary task for the party that is relevant to the mediation or be clear that
there is a break and that the parties can do something else. Leaving parties
to their own devices for long times online is likely to lead to disengagement.

1112

There will need to be a way for parties to give their signature remotely andit needs to be agreed in advance if it needs electronic verification or similar.
It is absolutely critical to always have a backup option for when the technology
goes down (e.g. we will have a conference call by telephone). Similarly, do
not delay the mediation whilst waiting for technology to be fixed but use thealternative method.

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Advice for Mediators on working with technology

After the mediation

13

Be careful about communication sent after the mediation for whatever of themediation and is private and confidential or not. A good rule of thumb is to
assume that any communication might be used by any party inappropriately.
If something is extremely confidential or difficult to explain by email, speak to
the party directly instead.

14Communications after the mediation should have a clear purpose and either
be in a bargaining or concluding phase or arranging a future mediation day.
If discussion is still taking place about exploring issues or raising new points,
this needs to take place during a mediation process, not by extended postmediation correspondence.

15

Whatever you do there needs to be a clear final statement by themediator informing the parties when the mediation has finished and thatthe confidentiality and without prejudice provisions in regard to future
correspondence are ending. Any future discussions need to be then organised
within the context of a new mediation day.

16

A mediator should have an appropriate policy for deleting files and not leave
confidential information about the parties on their system for a lengthy
amount of time.

Advice for Mediators on working with technology

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