Lawyers in Mediation: Insights From a Pilot Empirical Study

The article explores the current and multi-layered issue of lawyers’ roles in mediation, focusing in particular on cases where lawyers act as mediators. Drawing on a pilot empirical study of 161 respondents from various professional groups involved in mediation, the authors look at how legal training influences the effectiveness of mediation. The pilot study highlights both positive and negative determinants affecting a mediator’s performance from the perspective of legal training. Consequently, the authors attempt to assess how far legal education can help – or, conversely, complicate – a lawyer’s work as a mediator. The findings reveal a dual picture. On the one hand, respondents recognize the advantages of legal background, such as legal expertise and the ability to draft mediation settlement agreements effectively. On the other hand, they also highlight related risks, most notably the tendency to carry over litigation-oriented habits typical of legal counsel into mediation, which may undermine the neutrality required for an effective mediation process. Moreover, the authors advance a de lege ferenda proposal calling for the introduction of mandatory instruction in mediation, negotiation, and conflict management into law degree programmes as well as professional legal training. This approach could tangibly enhance the quality of mediation practice in Poland, contribute to a more nuanced and favourable perception of lawyers in the role of mediators, and ultimately support the wider adoption of consensual dispute resolution as an alternative to court proceedings.