Making ADR your day job

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So you’ve finished a 40-hour mediation training, completed two observations, have been observed by a qualified mediator and finally gotten your name on some court rosters.

Unless your phone is constantly ringing with people requesting you to mediate, read on.

Just as a JD degree doesn’t guarantee legal work, mediators may need to consider other ways to use their skills. Just as there are opportunities for lawyers beyond actually practicing law, there are many ways to create a career using mediation skills outside of the litigation arena.

So, it’s never too early to think, “What can I do with my skills besides mediate?”

No magic beans for success

As fellow mediator Lee Jay Berman wrote: “Mediators have traditionally left their basic mediation training courses and fled to the courts [looking for cases to mediate] like ants to a picnic.” However, in California where he practices, he says there is “not enough food at the picnic.”

Many discouraged mediators approach me at conferences to ask how I built my practice, hoping to find the key to their own success. I had the good fortune of becoming a mediator before the court rules changed, and I was able to mediate for some very good lawyers as soon as mediation began gaining ground.

Of course, a master’s degree in psychology helped, as did speaking, writing and serving on boards for every ADR and mediation group that asked me. But I planted no magic bean to grow my practice.

New mediators are struggling to create a sustainable mediation practice, both in counties where mediation has not yet caught on as well as in more mature, competitive mediation markets where mediators with good reputations already attract most of the work. So, if the courts do not provide enough work to keep mediators busy, what else can they do?

How important is it to you to call what you are doing “mediation”?

The skill set in which you are trained can be practiced under many titles: Ombudsman, client/employee relations manager, union negotiator, facilitator, manager, claims manager, human resources, peacemaker, transactional attorney, collaborative lawyer, broker, intermediary, moderator, diplomat and even community organizer.

Are you passionate about the title or about practicing the skills?

Which arenas to take it?

It has been said that the surest way to make money in our society is to do the things that other people do not want to do. In mediation, this may mean turning your back to the courthouse and finding the road less traveled. While these opportunities may be harder to find than litigated cases, when you do find them, you will find greater gains with less (or no) competition.

The first step is to figure out where your education, training and career background intersects with your passion. Mediators with backgrounds in psychology will likely have different career paths than those with backgrounds in teaching, law or real estate.

What do you do in your profession that interests you to the point you lose all track of time?

Seek out or create a way to marry your conflict resolution expertise with that endeavor and work will never be work again.

Mediate.com lists job opportunities in the field of mediation for paying members at www.mediate.com/careers.

Whatever you choose, go forth, spread the word, multiply, practice the skills, do good work, make money, and, above all, enjoy yourself.