Mediation

Before the courtroom, there is a room.

Mediation is an opportunity to address a dispute privately and constructively, before the dispute itself decides what happens next. A neutral, accredited mediator manages the conversation. The people in the room decide whether it ends in agreement.

LawFiq mediates family and business disputes; language requirements can be discussed at the first conversation. This page helps you judge whether mediation fits yours, and which pathway to take.

Book a consultation Is mediation right for this?

Sulh: a settlement reached freely, and with honour. The Islamic tradition's own word for what a good mediation produces.

The first question

Is mediation right for this?

Mediation is not the right tool for every dispute, and saying so early is part of the job. These are the signals we look for in a first conversation.

It may be worth trying when

Signals that mediation can help

Both sides can still take part meaningfully, even if they are no longer on speaking terms.
There is something worth preserving: a family, a business, a standing in the community, or a separation handled decently.
Privacy matters more than vindication.
The problem needs something designed rather than simply imposed: a buy-out staged over time, an inheritance divided with care, arrangements for children.
Both sides are willing, however cautiously, to look for a way through.

It is not the right tool when

Signals that point elsewhere

A binding ruling is required, and only a court can give it.
One side cannot take part freely, whether through pressure, incapacity or the absence of any real choice.
Fear, coercion, abuse or a serious imbalance of power would make the process unsafe.
Urgent protection is needed, legal or otherwise. That comes first. Mediation can wait, or never happen.

Which group a dispute falls into is not always obvious from inside it. The first conversation with us is one-sided and confidential, and its purpose is to answer this question before anything else is arranged.

If you are not safe

Mediation assumes two people who can negotiate freely and safely. Where there is abuse, fear or serious pressure, that assumption fails, and mediation is not appropriate. We will not run it, and no one should press you into it.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and confidential, day and night, on 0808 2000 247.

Two pathways

Two kinds of dispute, one way of working

How we conduct a mediation is the same in both. What differs is the subject matter, and the detail on each page.

Family Mediation

A dispute inside a family

Inheritance, separation arrangements, arrangements for children, marital tension that has drawn in the wider family. Handled with an understanding of what is at stake in both traditions.

Family Mediation

Business Mediation

A dispute inside or between businesses

Partner deadlock, shareholder disputes, family-business conflict, disputes between firms in the same community. Settled before the dispute costs more than the disagreement.

Business Mediation

The room, defined

Six terms, explained

Voluntary Both sides choose it: Nobody is compelled to mediate, and either side can stop. That freedom is what gives an agreement reached in the room its worth.
Confidential What is said, stays: Mediation is conducted in confidence, and the mediator reports to no one. The protection is strong but not absolute: narrow exceptions exist, for example where someone’s safety is at risk or a court decides the interests of justice require it.
Without prejudice Positions are not lost: As a general rule, what is said in mediation in an attempt to settle cannot later be used against you if the dispute goes to court. Here too there are narrow exceptions, and a written mediation agreement sets out the terms on which everyone takes part.
Neutral The mediator takes no side: The mediator manages the process and holds the balance. They do not judge, do not advise either side, and do not decide who is right.
Yours to decide Nothing is agreed unless you agree it: The outcome belongs to the parties. The mediator has no power to impose one, and no interest in which way it goes.
Binding when recorded An agreement, not an order: A mediated agreement is not automatically enforceable. Where it should be, it is recorded: as a signed agreement or, where court proceedings exist, in the appropriate court form. Where regulated legal services are required, these are provided by our partner SRA-regulated law firm.

The mediator

The person who holds the room

Owais Qarni

Founder & Principal · Accredited Mediator

LawFiq’s mediation practice is led by Owais Qarni, an Accredited Mediator and Hafiz al-Qur’an who works in English, Arabic and Urdu. He mediates family and business disputes, and brings to both the two frames of reference that matter to the people in the room: what their faith asks of them, and what English law will recognise.

The mediator gives neither side legal advice and issues no religious ruling. Where a genuine religious question sits inside a dispute, LawFiq’s scholars can address it on request, outside the mediator’s neutral role.

The legal frame

Where English law stands

Mediation is one of the ways a dispute can be resolved outside court, and the courts of England and Wales increasingly expect parties to consider it. In civil and commercial cases, an unreasonable refusal to engage in appropriate non-court resolution can carry procedural and costs consequences. In family cases, the court will ask what non-court options have been considered, and can pause proceedings to allow them.

An outcome reached in mediation binds only when it is recorded in the right form. A commercial settlement is usually a signed agreement that then takes effect as a contract. A family financial outcome generally needs the relevant formal legal process, such as a consent order, before it is enforceable. None of this is legal advice for your situation. It is the frame within which we work.

Regulated work

Where regulated legal services are required, these are provided by our partner SRA-regulated law firm.

LawFiq is a UK advisory company. It is not a firm of solicitors, and the mediator does not give legal advice.

Common questions

Before you decide

Do both sides have to agree to mediate?

Yes. Mediation only happens by consent, and either side can withdraw. That is not a weakness of the process: it is what makes an agreement reached in mediation something both sides own.

Can my solicitor advise me during mediation?

Yes. Mediation does not replace independent advice. Many parties take advice before the process, between sessions, and on the terms of any agreement before they sign it. Whether advisers attend the sessions themselves is settled as part of the ground rules at the start.

What happens if we do not reach agreement?

Then you are no worse off. What was said stays confidential, your position is not prejudiced, and every other route remains open. Many disputes that do not settle in the room settle soon afterwards, because both sides now understand what the other needs.

Book a consultation

Tell us about the dispute. We’ll tell you whether mediation fits.

A confidential first conversation, with no commitment. If mediation is not the right tool, we will say so, and point you towards what might be.