Mediation
Representation at mediation
Mediation is where many boundary and access disputes are finally resolved. Having conducted mediations himself, Laurence knows how to prepare for one, how the day works, and how to get the most from it for his client.
At a mediation, an independent mediator helps the parties negotiate a settlement in confidence. Each party is usually accompanied by its own lawyer, who prepares the case, advises on offers and negotiates on the day. Laurence Gray is both a property litigation solicitor and a CMC-registered mediator.
A mediator’s experience but working for you only
As Laurence Gray Mediation, Laurence acts as a neutral mediator: he helps both sides towards their own agreement and gives neither of them legal advice. If you instruct Laurence to act for you as your solicitor, he will use his experience as a mediator but for your benefit only in advising and negotiating on your behalf at mediation.
The two roles never meet in the same dispute. Laurence will not act for anyone in a dispute he has mediated, or mediate a dispute in which he has acted, and he checks for conflicts before taking on any matter.
Before the mediation
- Advising whether mediation suits your dispute, and when — sometimes early, sometimes once key evidence such as a surveyor’s plan is in hand
- Helping to choose a mediator with the right experience, and agreeing the terms of the mediation
- Preparing your position statement and the documents the mediator needs
- Working through with you what you actually need from a settlement, what you could accept, and what happens if no agreement is reached
On the day
A mediation usually takes a single day, in person or by video call. After any opening meeting, the parties spend most of the day in separate rooms, with the mediator moving between them. Laurence is with you throughout: presenting your case, testing the other side’s, advising on each offer and counter-offer, and keeping the legal risks in view as the day goes on.
If agreement is reached, the terms are written up and signed before everyone leaves. In boundary and access disputes the detail matters — an agreed plan, the wording of a new right of way, who maintains what, how the agreement will be registered — and Laurence drafts it so that it works in practice and protects you when either property is sold. If court proceedings are already under way, the settlement is usually recorded in a court order.
The courts expect it
In 2023 the Court of Appeal confirmed, in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, that judges can order parties to engage in mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Since October 2024 the Civil Procedure Rules have said so expressly, and a party who unreasonably refuses to engage can be penalised in costs even if it wins. In property disputes, mediation is now a normal step rather than an optional extra.
Looking for a mediator instead?
If both sides would prefer a neutral mediator, Laurence practises separately as Laurence Gray Mediation.