Opening Sessions - why bother?

Most mediations start with everyone getting together for a few opening remarks. Why do mediators push for this ceremony? How can it be an effective tool to advance settlement rather than rehash positions?

For me as a mediator, part of the value is to formally get people into the settlement frame of mind. The opening session is a regularly used ceremony which is an expected part of the ritual. Not kicking off with it would be like watching a world cup match without national anthems -its part of the psychology of getting ready.

More importantly though, helping the parties actually see and meet each other is enlightening. The decision makers on each side might not have ever met before and certainly not since lawyers got on board and seeing and hearing from each other directly, rather than filtered through the legal process, can be genuinely informative. A well structured set of opening remarks is also a powerful opportunity to bring focus to key parts of the case which you think an opponent might have not fully understood. If a claimant’s case on causation has gotten bogged down in detail, an opening statement might be a good chance for both sides to set out what they think about it.

How can an opening session go well? Try to focus on issues rather than the people. Keep the temperature cool, rather than bombastic. Although it might feel good to bang a fist on the table and threaten Armageddon unless there is complete capitulation, the likelihood is that this will just stoke an aggressive response rather than the mutual concessions necessary to reach a settlement.

Overall I can do little better than recommend this note put together by the experts at Independent Mediators.