Osibu advocates mediation in disputes

Ms Racheal Osibu, a commercial mediation specialist and lawyer, who is a Managing Partner at Osibogun & Partners, has advocated that there is a need for lawyers in Nigeria to master litigation and litigation skills to prevail in all entanglements in the field of arbitration, dispute resolution and resolution, and crisis communication.

Osibu, a UK-trained negotiator, argued in an article titled “the role of lawyers in a mediation process” that it is in the interests of global peace and justice that lawyers become advocates of mediation.

The member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, argued that as lawyers become more involved in litigation and dispute resolution, it is important that lawyers learn how to best support their clients and their customer case to achieve maximum results.

“Mediation is known as a process where only the mediator and the parties are involved or participate in the procedure depending on the style of mediation. However, mediation increasingly arises as a result of a court order/order. What role does the lawyer play on behalf of the client in such court-appointed mediation? It goes without saying that lawyers must be gladiators when they fight for the rights, interests or positions of their clients. They are therefore used to acting as combatants in a battlefield and bring matters to mediation in the same way. Too often lawyers are driven by what they think the outcome should be.

“This attitude inevitably slows down the process and hinders a positive outcome or one that is beneficial to their client. Mediation is about what the results can be. Therein lies its beauty. It is an important principle of mediation that it is a partisan and partisan process. However, experience has shown that lawyers are ultimately involved in the process, as much of the time clients come to mediation as a result of court instructions, having already engaged counsel.

“So at some point you or your office will end up in mediation; it is therefore important that lawyers understand the process, its dynamics and their role in it, not only necessary, but essential. There are two schools of thought on whether or not lawyers should actively participate in a mediation process. Some argue that lawyers have nothing to do with actively participating in a mediation process because they have little or no role to play, while others believe that lawyers should be there to ensure that the client is not taken advantage of, which inadvertently means they are actively involved. The later position is said to undermine the purpose of mediation as lawyers come to mediation with a hostile mindset, which can sometimes serve them in court cases but can clog the wheel of progress in a mediation environment. Lawyers are therefore designated as advocates of mediation.

“As lawyers become more involved, it has become useful for them to learn how to best support their clients and convey their clients’ case to achieve maximum results. In this way, counsel in such cases act as lubricants rather than obstacles to reaching an agreement between parties,” she said.

In her view, advocacy in mediation is the technique of presenting and arguing a client’s position, needs and interests in a non-hostile manner as it recognizes the negotiated outcome of a dispute is usually more satisfactory, effective, workable, flexible and more . more durable than an order issued by a court, tribunal or third party and the parties to a dispute must control the process and its outcome while being assisted by their professional representatives or advisers to reach a settlement that is both treats all matters as well as responding to their real needs and wider interests.

She added that “the attorney who is entering a mediation process or has accepted mediation as a way of resolving the client’s dispute must respect the process and be willing to learn what it takes if they are not familiar with it is. Certain things should be kept in mind; Is mediation appropriate for the dispute: For example, mediation would not be appropriate in a matter of interpretation of the constitution. You should also consider the pros and cons of the case, whether the timing is appropriate and whether the costs would be disproportionate, especially if other methods of dispute resolution have been tried, and the chances of success.

“In addition to the above, there are also certain core principles that cannot be overemphasized. This must be in the mind of such an advocate in the first place. They are: Mediation is for peacemaking, not war: if parties want to fight, the court is available. Mediation is not a pseudo court and therefore requires a different mindset and skills. Not every negotiation is a mediation, but every mediation is a negotiation: In a mediation, different negotiations take place between the parties through the negotiator, each party with the mediator, the parties with each other and the mediator, and between the parties without the mediator,” she explained.

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