Hybrid mediation

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Sometimes a family dispute needs more than two people and a mediator in the room. There may be a complicated pension, a business to understand, a difficult property valuation or a legal issue where one or both people would benefit from having their solicitor involved while discussions are taking place.

Hybrid mediation allows the mediation process to be adapted so that the right professional support can be brought in when it is genuinely useful. It still remains mediation. The mediator remains impartial and the decisions remain with the people involved.

What is hybrid mediation?

Hybrid mediation combines elements of traditional family mediation with a more flexible approach to how meetings are organised and who can take part. Depending on the case, this might mean:

• a solicitor or barrister joining part of the mediation;
• an accountant helping with a business or complex financial issue;
• a property or business valuer providing specialist information;
• a financial adviser assisting with affordability or future planning;
• a pension specialist or Pension on Divorce Expert helping with complicated pensions;
• another suitable professional contributing to a particular issue.

It can also involve the mediator meeting separately with each participant and, where appropriate, with their legal advisers to explore concerns and possible ways forward. Hybrid or integrated mediation can therefore be more flexible than conventional family mediation. The structure is agreed for the particular case rather than assuming every mediation has to be conducted in exactly the same way.

Why bring another professional into mediation?

Because sometimes the difficulty is not simply that two people disagree. Sometimes both people are missing information they need before they can make a sensible decision.

Imagine that you are discussing what should happen to a pension, but neither of you really understands what that pension may provide in retirement. Or one person wants to retain a family business, but there is disagreement about what the business is worth.

The mediator should not try to become the pension expert, accountant, valuer or solicitor. Instead, where appropriate, hybrid mediation allows the person with the relevant expertise to become part of the process. That can sometimes mean questions are dealt with while discussions are taking place rather than the mediation repeatedly stopping while everyone goes away to obtain further information.

Does my solicitor have to attend?

No. Hybrid mediation does not mean that everybody must arrive with a solicitor. In some cases, the useful additional professional may be a solicitor. In another case it might be an accountant, financial adviser, pension specialist or valuer. There may also be cases where no outside professional is needed at all.

The structure should follow the problem, rather than adding professionals simply because the process is called hybrid mediation.

Where lawyers are involved, their role is different from the mediator’s. They may provide legal advice and support their own client. The mediator remains responsible for managing the mediation process and remaining impartial.

Everyone needs to know who is in the process

A professional cannot simply be added to a mediation without the other participant knowing about it. At Salam Mediation, if we consider bringing another professional into the process, we would discuss this with both participants first. Both people should understand:

• who the professional is;
• why they are being involved;
• what their role will be;
• what information they will receive;
• whether they will attend the whole meeting or only part of it;
• how confidentiality will operate;
• what they can and cannot do within the mediation.

Both participants must agree to that person’s involvement. The professional would also be expected to read and sign the relevant hybrid mediation agreement or participation terms before taking part. This sets the boundaries of their involvement and requires them to respect the confidentiality and principles of the mediation process.

This matters because hybrid mediation can operate differently from conventional family mediation, particularly where separate confidential discussions take place. Everyone should understand the framework before the process begins.

Can the mediator meet us separately?

Yes, where this forms part of the agreed hybrid process. A hybrid mediator may spend time separately with each participant and, where appropriate, their lawyer. This can make it easier to explore concerns, understand what is preventing progress and test possible proposals before they are put forward.

One important feature of some hybrid mediation models is that the mediator may be able to hold confidential information within carefully agreed boundaries. This differs from the way confidentiality may operate in conventional family mediation and needs to be understood before the process starts.

The mediator remains impartial. Holding confidential information does not mean becoming one person’s adviser or taking sides.

When can hybrid mediation be useful?

We would normally consider hybrid mediation where it adds something useful to the process.

Complex financial arrangements

For example, businesses, substantial pensions, several properties, complicated investments or questions where specialist financial information is needed.

A difficult technical issue

Sometimes most of the finances are understood but one particular issue – perhaps a pension valuation, business value or mortgage question – is preventing progress. It may make more sense to bring in the appropriate specialist than to continue debating an issue that neither participant nor the mediator is qualified to determine.

Where legal advice during the process would help

There may be cases where having solicitors involved allows proposals to be explored and tested with legal advice available during the process.

High-conflict cases

The greater flexibility of hybrid mediation, including separate meetings, can sometimes help where communication has become particularly difficult. Where the two of you would simply rather not be in the same room, shuttle mediation may be the simpler answer.

Safeguarding or domestic abuse concerns

Hybrid mediation may sometimes provide additional safeguards through separate meetings and professional support. However, hybrid mediation does not automatically make every domestic abuse case suitable for mediation. Suitability and safety must still be assessed carefully. The structure of the meeting does not replace the mediator’s responsibility to decide whether mediation is appropriate.

Is hybrid mediation only for financial cases?

No. It is often discussed in connection with complicated financial settlements because those cases may naturally involve lawyers, accountants, valuers or pension experts. But the model can also be useful in difficult children cases or wider family disputes where specialist professional involvement would genuinely assist.

The question is always: will changing the structure of the mediation help the people involved make better-informed decisions? If it will not, ordinary family mediation may be the better and simpler process.

How does hybrid mediation work at Salam Mediation?

There is no single format that has to be used in every case. We would normally begin with separate MIAMs so that we can understand the circumstances, consider suitability and discuss whether ordinary mediation, shuttle mediation or a hybrid approach may be appropriate.

If hybrid mediation is being considered, we would agree the structure before the substantive hybrid session takes place. This may include deciding:

1. what issues need to be resolved;
2. what information is still required;
3. whether a particular specialist would help;
4. whether solicitors should participate;
5. whether meetings will be joint, separate or a combination;
6. how confidentiality will work;
7. what everyone participating in the process must agree to beforehand.

The appropriate agreements or participation terms would then be completed before the hybrid session. The aim is not to make mediation more complicated. It is to design the process around the case.

What a hybrid session costs

A hybrid session is £250 per person online, or £300 in person, for 120 minutes. That is the mediation. Any solicitor, accountant, valuer or other specialist who takes part charges you separately for their own time, and you would agree that with them directly. All our fees are here.

Does hybrid mediation guarantee an agreement?

No. Like any form of mediation, it remains voluntary and the mediator does not impose an outcome. Additional professional involvement may help people understand their position and explore proposals more effectively, but the final decisions remain theirs.

For financial cases, the usual further steps may still be needed. For example, proposals reached through mediation may be recorded in a Memorandum of Understanding, alongside the Open Financial Statement. The parties can then obtain independent legal advice and, where appropriate, ask a solicitor or other suitably qualified legal professional to prepare a financial Consent Order for the court to consider.

Is hybrid mediation right for us?

Not every case needs it. For many separating families, ordinary joint or shuttle mediation is enough. Hybrid mediation becomes useful when there is a genuine reason to change the normal structure – perhaps because the issues are particularly technical, specialist information is needed or having professional advisers involved would help the discussions move forward.

We can consider this during the MIAM and discuss whether a hybrid approach is likely to add genuine value to your case. How family mediation works sets out the ordinary process for comparison.

Book a MIAM Speak to Salam Mediation

Sources and useful information

• Family Mediation Council – mediation meetings and sessions
• Family Mediation Council – hybrid and integrated mediation
• Family Mediation Council – what hybrid mediation involves
• Resolution – hybrid mediation
• Family Mediation Council – Code of Practice