Conquest broadens family panel

THE INDEPENDENT Family & Mediation Panel will be launched by Conquest Legal Marketing at a series of free seminars in February.

Launched exclusively to members of the National Solicitors' Network in 1995 and now open to non-member firms, the Independent Family & Mediation initiative encourages the use of mediation in the divorce process by supporting comprehensive training in mediation support and access to mediation training.

Following the seminars, the network will launch a programme including comprehensive training and a national marketing campaign to promote the panel and raise public awareness of firms offering mediation services. In order to ensure national coverage applications are now being invited by the profession as a whole.

Angela Willis, project manager for the initiative, said: "In whatever form mediation is finally introduced into the framework of family law, it is clear that it is here to stay. Rather than seeing it as a threat, firms should use it as an opportunity to develop their skills and enhance the services that they offer."