Dear colleagues,
Welcome to our first FMA Members Newsletter for some time. We hope that this might be the first of a more regular communication with you – we welcome feedback about this.
This Newsletter starts with some very sad news about the death of FMA co-founder and Vice President Henry Brown. Following that there are news items on ENCP co-membership and practice on “mediators drafting consent orders” with a reminder about our fantastic Liverpool conference on 18-19 June.
Thanks to our NNE marketing assistant, Catherine O’Loughlin, who has put this Newsletter together.
With very best wishes,
The FMA Board
Henry Brown’s death last Wednesday 26 March, after being ill for some time, is a great sadness and major loss. Henry was the leading authority in the UK on mediation and non-court dispute resolution (NCDR). He was also an acclaimed author and mediation trainer, a founder of the FMA and a wonderful person.
Henry qualified as a lawyer in South Africa, where he represented some of the leading opponents of apartheid, including Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela and Albie Sachs. Albie Sachs was held in solitary confinement and Henry arranged for him to be provided with reading and writing materials. In 1971 Henry moved to London with his wife Elsa and their young family, to avoid risks to their safety from the apartheid regime in South Africa. Having re-qualified as a solicitor in this country, Henry combined his legal practice at Birkbeck Montagu, Solicitors, with developing mediation and collaborative law. in April 1985, Henry and another South African lawyer, Jack Bleiman, took a course in divorce mediation with John Haynes in New York. In the same year, Henry gave a workshop on divorce mediation at the inaugural conference of the Forum for Initiatives in Reparation and Mediation (later renamed Mediation UK). The conference was held at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Halls in south London and Henry’s workshop was held in a room marked ‘Fruit & Veg’. My meeting with him in Fruit & Veg led to a pilot project in co-mediation on all issues in separation and divorce, including financial and property matters. Previously, family conciliation/mediation had been confined to child-related issues. We were joined by four other solicitors – John Cornwell (founder and chairman of the Solicitors Family Law Association, now Resolution), Diana Parker, Felicity White and Jack Bleiman. I was asked to co-mediate with each of them so that we would develop a consistent model.
The lawyers were concerned about breaching the conflict-of-interest rule, which barred them from advising two parties jointly on matters involving a conflict of interest between them and the Law Society advised that our proposed scheme would need to be considered very carefully. Henry and I were invited to join a working party with members of the Law Society’s Family Law and Ethics and Guidance Committees. Meetings took place over a year and addressed questions such as how the Law Society would handle a complaint brought against a solicitor acting on the role of mediator. The meetings concluded with the Law Society giving the solicitors permission to take part in the pilot project, provided that they acted as mediators outside their practice as solicitors.
We offered our pilot scheme pro-bono, with feedback requested from participants, and it generated so much interest from mediators across the country that we decided to set up a national association. The FMA was founded in December 1988 to set standards and provide training in interdisciplinary co-mediation on any or all issues, with John Cornwell as Chair of the Management Board. The grant to design FMA’s foundation training, incorporating the core principles of mediation, included a consultancy for Henry to draft key documents such as the Agreement to Mediate and standard wording for the Mediation Summary. We ran many courses and trained many outstanding mediators who became the driving force in the present generation.
Henry’s contribution to the development of mediation and NCDR has been immense, not only in this country but also in other countries including South Africa, where Henry and I were invited to give training on two occasions by Sue Folb, who pioneered mediation at FAMSA (Family and Marriage Society of South Africa). In Denmark, Henry and Felicity gave training for Pia Deleuran and her fellow family lawyers. Henry also gave workshops on high conflict, attachment theory and dispute resolution psychology and ran advanced courses integrating family and civil-commercial practice. He was always innovative, modest and good fun. Right up to the end of his life, Henry was working with Mohamed Keshavjee on a joint paper on marriage, divorce and mediation in Judaism and Islam, examining crossovers, similarities and differences. Henry was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Academy of Mediators for his ‘dedicated service as a civil rights lawyer, mediator, teacher, writer and leader in dispute resolution reform throughout the world.’ In his own words, ‘common humanity and indeed our future survival demand that we tackle global issues collectively. The need for connectedness has never been greater.’
Tribute by Lisa Parkinson
FMA Annual Conference – Early Bird Rate Extended!
Imagine…….
The Expanding Diversity of Humanity, Human Relationships, and Family Mediation Practice
Our online conference in September – “A Gender Agenda” – was fantastically well attended and received. We will be continuing our theme of Embracing Diversity In Mediation throughout the next six months, culminating in the 2025 conference on 18-19 June in Liverpool.
Following the great success of our first fully residential conference at Northampton in September 2023, we now return to the in-person two-day format to build on the opportunities it provides for strengthening the FMA Community. We have also shifted the main conference away from the busy conference and training season in September/ October.
Over these two days, we invite you to Imagine the Expanding Diversity of Humanity, Human Relationships, and of Family Mediation Practice. We encourage you to use your imaginations both to understand better the challenges faced by the families and individuals we serve, and to develop the offering we provide to those families.
Day One – “All You Need Is…” – is our day for awareness, through expert presentations and lively plenary discussion. You’ll be invited to join an innovative finance workshop –“Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Our John Cornwell Lecture on Neuro-diversity will be delivered by Dr Jessica Eccles, who is an award-winning researcher and a neurodevelopmental psychiatrist specialising in the links between brain and body.
There will be conversations with experts and practitioners around race, religion and culture, financial barriers to mediation, around disability and mental health, and many aspects of involving young people in peer and family mediation.
Day Two – “We Can Work It Out” – is our day for reflecting on practice and developing together, through experiential discussion and specialised workshops. The workshop topics will, as always, reflect different aspects of re-accreditation and portfolio CPD.
The two days of learning will be punctuated by a Hard Day’s Night of fun, including dinner, a costumed cabaret, and either or both a silent disco or live band.
Prices for the conference have been held from 2023, and our Easter Discount runs until April 30: just use the code April45 when you check out. You’ll also see below that if you are still working towards accreditation there is a much lower set of fees; we really welcome newer mediators and YFMA members to join us. As ever, there is a substantial reduction for FMA members, so now is the time to join FMA if you aren’t already with us!
The Adelphi Hotel has an extraordinary history and is an ideal location to meet together in the North West. We think you’ll love it as a conference venue!
We look forward to seeing you there!
A Conversation with Dr Angarad Rudkin
It’s not too late to register for this free event on Tuesday 13 May 2025 from 11.30am to 1pm. Angharad spoke to us last September about how children experience family separation, with a focus on gender, and welcomes the opportunity to have a broader conversation about the way in which children experience family separation.
Register using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/H_Tr7Q7DSZ-2LYu3E_jZkA
PPC Foundation Training 10th & 11th June, Leeds
Are you thinking about training to be a PPC?
Designed for experienced family mediators, this comprehensive training equips you to take on the pivotal role of PPC, supporting and supervising fellow mediators in their development and practice.
Delivered by Beverley Sayers, an experienced mediator and PPC with a passion for empowering others, this two-day course delivers essential skills, insights, and tools to confidently step into the PPC role.
The course doesn’t stop when the 2 day training ends! Participants will benefit from a 12-month support package, ensuring a smooth transition into their new role. This includes ongoing guidance, resources, and access to a network of professionals to help you excel as a PPC.
Find out more and register here: https://thefma.co.uk/conferencetraining/ppc-foundation-training-10th-11th-june/
CIM Foundation Training | 30th September, 1st October and 2nd October, London
Are you thinking about CIM training?
Hearing the ‘Voice of the Child’ is a vital part of our role as Family Mediators; indeed, we are required to offer this opportunity for children and young people aged 10 and over.
This course will enhance your work with parents and give you confidence to use the skills and knowledge to directly include children and young people in the mediation process in a meaningful way. Where appropriate, their views can be taken forward into parental decision making as part of the mediation. These skills and techniques can be used as part of your mediation practice following FMA/FMC Policy and as a Child Consultant in Collaborative Practice where appropriate. We will examine the various models of CIM, including online.
The course is highly interactive with a mixture of role plays, discussions and presentations. It builds on our knowledge of child development and research and draws on the experience of Child Inclusive practice in the UK and other jurisdictions.
Find out more and register here: https://thefma.co.uk/conferencetraining/cim-foundation-training-programme-30th-september-1st-october-2nd-october-2025/
The Family Mediators Association’s Views on Family Mediators Drafting the Terms of Finance Consent Orders
Introduction:
The original FMA Policy on this issue was created in 2018, largely as a response to guidance which had been produced by other member organisations of the Family Mediation Council. FMA is currently revising its policies and the core documents on our new website. This is one of the documents which needs updating in the light of developments in the practice of mediation, lawyers and the courts. A draft detailed revision is set out on the following pages; this may be taken as FMA’s current position as at February 2025, but we welcome responses from members and will promulgate a finalised version by the time of the next FMA Conference in June 2025.
Dual Membership with the ENCP
FMA members benefit from dual membership with the European Network for Collaborative Practice (ENCP). The ENCP hosts their flagship annual conference, bringing together collaborative legal and mediation professionals in some of Europe’s most picturesque locations for the International Collaborative Law Congress—an event designed to foster innovation, exchange best practices, and strengthen cross-border collaboration.
This year, the FMA board attended as advocates for mediation in the collaborative law space at the ICCL in Madrid. Next year’s Congress will be held in Switzerland, offering an opportunity to network beyond borders, diversify your skillset through conversations with professionals across the broader collaborative legal industry, and enjoy numerous professional and social enrichment opportunities.
The ENCP also provides avenues to get involved with committees and connect with exclusive professional development opportunities.
To join the ENCP email us at info@fma.co.uk with the subject line ‘ENCP Membership’, and be sure to mention whether you are a current collaborative professional.
Legal Aid/Voucher Committee
The FMC have decided to amalgamate the Legal Aid and Voucher working groups to form one new group. Your representatives are Beverley Sayers and Anna Vollans. They have already attended one meeting with the FMC and Ministry of Justice and will share any updates with you on an ongoing basis.
