WEBINAR: Managing Clients’ Expectations of Mediation
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https://conflictmanagement.tangiblelaunchpad.com/webinar-managing-clients-expectations-of-mediation/
About the webinar
Clients don’t arrive at mediation as blank slates. By the time settlement discussions begin, many hold firm beliefs about what is “fair,” what others received, or how negotiations “should” unfold. When those expectations collide with reality mid-mediation, the consequences can include reactive instructions, emotional withdrawal, and a sharp deviation from planned strategy. In this practical session, Julie Somerville explores why expectation management cannot be squeezed into the pre-mediation conference or left entirely to the mediator, and shares approaches that consistently support calmer negotiations and unwavering trust between clients and their lawyers.
What you’ll learn
- How to conduct an early expectation audit to surface assumptions before they become obstacles
- Techniques for communicating best-case, likely, and worst-case outcomes in ways clients can absorb and retain under pressure
- How to help clients build a negotiation framework that goes beyond a single “magic number”
- Strategies for collaborating with mediators to reality-test positions and deliver difficult information while protecting the lawyer-client relationship
Who should attend
This webinar is designed for family mediators, workplace mediators, collaborative practitioners, family lawyers, parenting coordinators, and anyone who works with people who may make mental health attacks during conflicts.
Whether you have encountered these dynamics before or want to be prepared when they arise, this session will expand your toolkit.
About your trainer
Julie is an AMDRAS-accredited mediator and certified trauma-informed lawyer with 30 years’ experience as a litigator and negotiator. She helps lawyers and their clients resolve complex and sensitive civil claims through empathetic, outcomes-focused mediation, with particular expertise in medical negligence, institutional and sexual abuse, public liability, and workplace injury claims.
Her mediation style blends legal rigour with trauma-informed principles to create a safe process for parties to tell their story, reduce re-traumatisation, and improve settlement outcomes. Julie was named 2022 Mediator of the Year at the Australian ADR Awards and has been recognised as a Doyles Leading NSW Mediator from 2020 to 2025.