The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
DUE to new legislation, it is likely over the coming months that lawyers will be required to advise their clients to consider mediation in order to resolve disputes and an Ennis-based solicitor has said the process could save a family years of pain. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are currently drafting the Mediation Bill which, if and when enacted, would make it mandatory for solicitors and barristers to advise parties who are in a dispute to consider resolving it using the mediation process. In circumstances where parties go to court, the Mediation Bill will also require the parties to state to the court that they have been told about the mediation process and have considered it as a way of resolving the dispute. Last July, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said there is no specific time-frame for the Bill. However, she said she expected it to become law ahead of the general election. Minister Fitzgerald said the new legislation would …
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