MIAMS Terms of Business

Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting: Terms of Business

A mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) is a meeting with a specially qualified family mediator the aim of which is:

• to explain to you the Non Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) processes outside of the courts available to separating or divorcing couples. Those options include mediation which is a voluntary process, involving qualified and impartial mediators who provide neutral information about clients’ legal and financial options, but not advice on their ‘best interests’.

• to give you an opportunity to decide the best way of resolving the issues surrounding your relationship or marriage breakdown (e.g. children, property and financial issues).

• to explore whether mediation would be a safe and effective alternative to litigation in your particular circumstances.

• To ascertain whether or not there is any funding available to you to support you through the process and if not the costs of the process to ensure it is an affordable option for you.

• Assessing the appropriateness of Mediation for you in terms of your agenda and as participants to the process.

• Answer any questions you may have about the process.

• To give you an opportunity to have a private and confidential meet with the Mediator knowing what is discussed at that meet will not be shared with the other person or anyone subject to safe guarding / child protection issues.

Every client who expresses an interest in mediation begins the process with a MIAMs meets. In addition, since 29 April 2024, almost all divorcing and separating couples in England and Wales who want to use the court process to resolve any disagreements about children and/or money must prove that they have made reasonable attempts to resolve their disputes outside of the court process by way of NCDR and in the absence of this must be able to provide a reasonable explanation to the court as to why they did not so.

You cannot issue an application at court without either (a) a MIAMs certificate to confirm that mediation is not appropriate or that it has broken down or (b) claiming one of the specific exemptions explained in the form. If there has been a referral for a MIAM, the mediator has to sign the court application form. The court will check whether any other exemption is validly claimed and will usually require that you attend a MIAM if no exemption in fact applies. A judge may also choose not to hear a case until both people have shown that they have considered mediation. Courts will often adjourn court cases to give you the opportunity to resolve all issues out of the court room. This means that, even if you are quite sure that mediation or one of the other alternatives to court is not for you, attending a MIAM will help you avoid unnecessary delays whether you are the person who is applying to the court, or the other person. Far more positively, the meeting gives you a chance to decide, with professional assistance, how best to conduct your separation or divorce in the interests of yourself and your children.

You do not need a solicitor to attend a MIAM’s meet but it may be helpful for you to obtain advice from a legal adviser during the mediation process. You will find more about our MIAMs meets here https://youtu.be/Xs5h8-GH4xI?si=FLQaOq7W-5Bg9nba

The following terms provide the basis for initial meetings conducted by one of our Family Mediators. Please read the terms of the following agreement with care. If you have any questions or queries please raise these with your mediator before proceeding. Your mediator is a member of the Family Mediation Council (FMC) and Resolution. You can find more information about each organisation via their respective websites.

The Process

Your meeting will be conducted by a mediator authorized by the Family Mediation Council to conduct MIAMs and to sign the relevant court application form confirming that a MIAM has taken place. If, at the end of the process (including any meeting with your former partner) either you or the mediator decides that mediation is not a good way forward, you can ask the mediator to sign your court application form or for a certificate to be issued.

It is usual for these meetings to be conducted on an entirely separate basis but, even if you elect for a joint assessment meeting (if offered by the mediator), there will be a separate, private session with you for part of the meeting. This will involve you and the mediator discussing your personal situation on a confidential basis without your former partner in the room. Any information you give the mediator during this stage or in a separate meeting will be kept confidential and will not be shared with your former partner or anyone else except for any specific matters that you agree with the mediator can be shared. There are however some important exceptions to the mediator’s duty of confidentiality and these are listed in the section below. It is important to note however the MIAMs process is the only time you will have the opportunity to have a conversation which is private from the other participant. Once mediation us up and running whilst your meets remain confidential this will then be between all participants to the process.

During the meeting the mediator will provide information about the options available to you to resolve the issues around your separation and will discuss with you the advantages and disadvantages of each option. The mediator will also ask you questions and make an assessment to decide whether or not mediation might be a suitable way forward for your family in your own particular circumstances.

The mediator may decide that mediation is not a safe and/or effective option in your particular situation. If this happens, the mediator will sign the form to confirm that you have attended a MIAM but that mediation is not going ahead. The mediator may decide that mediation would be a safe and effective option in your particular situation. If that happens it is up to you and your former partner to choose whether to try mediation or not. Mediation is always voluntary. You are required to attend a MIAM before issuing a court application but you are not required to mediate. That is a decision for you both. If you decide that you don’t want to mediate then the mediator will sign your court application form to confirm that you have attended but that mediation is not going ahead.

Exceptions to Confidentiality

1. Where any person (particularly a child) is at risk of serious harm, the family mediator has a duty to contact the appropriate authorities;

1. In common with all other relevant professionals, the family mediator may be required to disclose to the appropriate government authority information with regard to the commission of any relevant, previously undisclosed, criminal offence. The mediator may also be under a linked obligation to make such disclosure without informing you and may have to discontinue the meeting without further notice.

1. Exceptionally, the family mediator may disclose personal data in connection with the alleged or established commission of an unlawful act. We are required by current legislation to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves money laundering or terrorist financing. By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to the NCA if we consider it appropriate. You agree that this authority overrides any confidentiality or entitlement to legal professional privilege.  We shall be unable to tell you if we have made a report.

1998. The family mediator is a ‘processor’ of personal data for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. You consent to the mediator processing your personal data for the purposes of this Agreement. You understand that this includes the mediator retaining and storing your personal data for as long as is necessary in connection with this Agreement. The mediator may retain data for research and statistical purposes but on the understanding that if used it has been stripped of all features from which you could personally be identified.

1. Our practice’s quality assurance standard requires us to monitor our mediation files. Periodically, our practice supervisors may have sight of files, but access is strictly controlled and on a similar confidential basis.

1. The file may be considered by any complaints handler in the event that you make a complaint about your initial meeting. That will not extend to any parts of the file concerning your former partner.

1. We are accredited by the Law Society’s LEXCEL standard being the highest legal quality assurance level LQAL achievable in the UK. We also hold a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and can offer to our clients who are eligible public funding. To maintain these standards / contracts , auditors review our practices and procedures on an annual basis.  This includes review of client files.  Again, in signing to our terms and conditions you are providing your authority for the release of your file to LEXCEL / Legal Aid Agency auditors.

1. To ensure the best quality and efficient service to our clients, we may well elect to store client documentation relating to this retainer in secure client portals in the Cloud. Only those who you have authorised can gain access to this portal. In signing this retainer, you are giving your consent to your documents being stored in this way.

Responsibility

My name is Helen Pittard. I am a Solicitor and Accredited Family Mediator specialising in Family Law with over 30 years experience and I will carry out most of the work in this matter personally.  If you need to telephone please ask to speak to me, or if I am unavailable, my Assistant, Heather Roberts, will be familiar with the file and if she is unable to help you herself, she will be pleased to take a message for you.

We will try to avoid changing the people who handle your work but if this cannot be avoided we will inform you promptly who will be handling the matter.

The Director with ultimate responsibility for your mediation is Helen Pittard. However we have a team of 4 mediators consisting of Helen, Jude Stevenson, Donna Robinson and Melissa Fearnley. Whoever conducts your initial MIAMs meet with be the mediator assigned to your mediation. Exceptionally however this will not be the case and if this applies to you, you will be informed in advance and given a choice of which mediator you would like to engage with where appropriate to do so. 

Charges and Payment terms for the Initial Meeting.

Fees are charged separately per client. Each assessment session costs £120 [ inc VAT]. If mediation is to proceed you will be asked to enter into fresh terms of business governing the process. 

As legal aid funding is still available for Mediation you may have had a preliminary legal aid assessment carried out during your initial enquiry.  This is done on the basis of the information you provide and therefore not a complete assessment and should be considered as guidance only.  In addition, during your meeting, the Mediator will carry out a full assessment based on the exact figures on the evidence provided at your meeting and we will confirm during that meeting whether you qualify for legal aid or not.   

In the event you are assessed as being eligible for legal aid, the Mediator will check if you have with you the appropriate evidence to support your claim for legal aid funding or will require this to be provided within 5 working days before any action is taken on your file, and if your costs are to be covered under the legal aid scheme.  If sufficient evidence is not forthcoming, or if once provided you are not within the eligibility criteria then a private bill for the MIAM will be issued to you for payment forthwith as detailed below.  

Joint MIAMs Sessions cost £190 plus VAT.   

Payment for the MIAMs meet is in advance in order to secure your scheduled appointment.

In the event of us applying for the Mediation voucher on your behalf there will be an additional payment of £ 30 plus of VAT.

In the event of mediation being deemed not appropriate in your case and you requiring your certificate to confirm then where will be administration fee of £ 30 plus VAT payable in advance.

Your Transaction

I am enclosing a MIAMS Information Sheet which relates to your transaction.  I hope that you find this information useful in understanding the procedure involved.  If you have any queries at this stage please let me know.

Complaints

Our aim is to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service at all times.   Our clients and our staff are of first importance to us. We hope that you will be pleased with the work we do for you. However, should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, please raise your concern in the first place with the Mediator who is dealing with your case.  If you still have queries or concerns, then please forward those issues to our client care Director by e-mail at hpittard@174familylaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0151 8323253. If resolution cannot be found atthis stage then the mediator will liaise withtheir  PPC – Professional Practice Consultant who oversees our Mediation pratice.  

If your complaint about a breach of the Family Mediation Council code of practice still remains unresolved, you may refer your complaint to the Family Mediation Council for consideration in accordance with their complaints procedure. Details of their Complaints and Compliance Rules can be found on their websites detailed below:

Complaints About Mediators – Family Mediation Council

If your complaint is about poor service ,

Then, please contact our client care director either by letter at The Lauries 142 Claughton Road Birkenhead Wirral CH41 6EY or by e-mail at hpittard@174familylaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0151 8323253.

The firm has a Complaints Procedure document, which is available on request, and which would be sent to you should you make a complaint.  Your right to complain might relate to the way in which your matter is being handled, or a bill that we issue.  In the case of a complaint about a bill, there might also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part 111 of the Solicitors Act 1974.  However, we would point out that if all or part of a bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest – any such entitlement would be set out in our Terms and Conditions of Business and/or on the reverse side of the bill.

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.  If you remain dissatisfied at the end of our complaints process, you would then be at liberty to contact the Legal Ombudsman, an organisation which investigates complaints about poor service from lawyers.  The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints no later than: • one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or • one year from the date when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint.  If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, this must be done within 6 months of our final response to your complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, their contact details are as follows:-

• Visit legalombudsman.org.uk
• Cal 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm (calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02) from both mobiles and landlines. Calls are recorded and may be used for training and monitoring purposes.)
• For minicom call 0300 555 1777
• E-mail enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Postal address: Legal Ombudsman, PO BOX 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Information about the type of complaint the LEO can help with can be found on their websites:

LEO –  www.legalombudsman.org.uk/helping-the-public/

In the event you have cause to raise a complaint, by signing this agreement you are consenting to the release of your file to the investigating person or body to enable them to consider.

In the event of any complaint be it in relation to a breach of the FMC standards or service then you hereby give your consent for this practice to share information relating to your case and your complaint with the appropriate professional body be it the Family Mediation Standards Board or Legal Ombudsman or Solicitors Regulatory Authority.

Consumer Rights Act ADR Scheme

In the provision of our service, in the event of you wishing to pursue a complaint it is open to you to consider an Alternative form of Dispute Resolution to the above as defined by the Consumer Rights Act. An ADR service provider can only however deal with a concern relating to poor service or requests for refunds of fees. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSi )holds a list of ADR approved bodies who can provide such a ADR service. Our member organisation Resolution recommends Pro Mediate.

Money Laundering Requirements

As a result of the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing & Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 which have transposed the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive into UK law and as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 we must ask you to produce evidence of your identity, unless you are personally known to us for at least two years or your case is a publicly funded matter not involving any financial issues.  We will need to see proof of your identity, which could be any of the following:

We are entitled to refuse to act for you if you fail to supply appropriate proof of identity for yourself or for any principal whom you may represent. We will not be liable for any loss, damage or delay arising out of the firm’s compliance with any statutory or regulatory requirement.

Please understand that we need to see original documents and not photocopies.  We may then take a photocopy of the documents produced for our records. Two forms of ID are required-one to prove who you are and one to prove where you live. It is NOT acceptable to use the same document as evidence of both name and address. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE ACCEPTABLE ID WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACT FOR YOU.

Any personal data that we receive from you for the specific purpose of preventing money laundering will only be used for that purpose. Anti-money laundering legislation requires us to retain data relating to verification checks for at least five years. You expressly consent to us keeping (for more than five years) your personal data relating to these verification checks. Your personal data will be destroyed when the file relating to your matter is destroyed in accordance with our data retention periods.

Please note that if anything comes to our attention, whether as a result of information provided by you, or otherwise, which leads us to the view, or suspicion, that there is, has, will, or may be an act constituting money laundering, we are obliged to report the same to the appropriate authority. 

Please note that under this legislation if this firm has any reason to believe or suspect that any monies, property or other items of value involved in your case comes within that legislation WE ARE REQUIRED to disclose details to the police or to a designated compliance officer.

Please also note that as a result of this legislation we also reserve the right to refuse to accept cash payments from you for any sum as the receipt of significant or regular amounts of cash can impose upon us an obligation to report this under the Proceeds of Crime Act.  If in doubt please speak to us first.

Information that State Benefits are being claimed improperly also necessitates a report.

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information for Payer) Regulations came into force on 26 June 2017and the ML Regulations came into force 24^th February 2003 and POCA became Law on the 1^st March 2004.  The ML regulations affect you and us but POCA is aimed primarily at honest professions, like us.  Offences under POCA carry criminal sentences of up to 14 years and fines.  Consequently we have to comply with and take very seriously these Regulations and Laws.

“Criminal Property” is property of any kind or which represents the benefit of “Criminal Conduct” and that is defined as conduct that is illegal in the UK or would be, if committed in the UK.  Thus, for example, money or property obtained through undeclared income or tax or benefit fraud (no matter how small) is Criminal Property derived from Criminal Conduct.

If we knowingly conceal, disguise, convert, transfer, remove, assist in the acquisition, use or control of, or have possession of Criminal Property, we may be guilty of an offence under the POCA.  We may also commit an offence if we reasonably ought to have known or suspected that Criminal Property or Criminal Conduct is involved, but do nothing.

If we know or suspect that Criminal Property or Conduct is involved we are required under POCA to disclose the facts or suspicions to the National Crime Agency (NCA i.e. the Police).  If we fail to make a disclosure we may commit an offence.  If we tell you that we have made a disclosure, we may commit an offence.

Obviously, we are not suggesting that you are involved in ML or that your assets or finances are the proceeds of crime or derived from any Criminal Conduct.  But circumstances may arise during the course of our instructions that may reasonably lead us to have concerns.  In that case we may ask you for an explanation.  If we are not wholly satisfied with what you tell us, we may invite you to make a joint disclosure to NCA.  If you refuse, we reserve the right to make a disclosure alone, and in that case we shall not be able to tell you that we have done so.  However following recent Law Society Guidelines if we are conducting any litigation for you including preparatory stages (including pre-action) or diversion from the Court systems such as settlements, negotiations, and out of Court settlements and Alternative Dispute Resolution we may not have to make an authorised disclosure to NCA if such disclosure may prejudice that litigation.  The Law Society has also confirmed in these circumstances failure to report would not lead us to be committing any offences pursuant to Sections 327 to 329 of the POCA. In these circumstances we will tell you about ant potential money laundering problem and explain what action we may need to take.

If a disclosure is made, we are obliged to stop all work on your file and can take no further actions for you, or (where appropriate) our client, regardless of the stage then reached in the transaction.  For example, if contracts have been exchanged (in a transaction where there are contracts), we may not be able to complete your transaction, in which case you may be in breach of contract and liable to financial penalties to the other party.  NCA have 7 days in which to make an initial investigation, and to make a decision, either that there is no reason for concern, or that they want to start an investigation. Please note NCA can extend this time to 31 days if it decides to do so.  Only when we have the consent of NCA to continue, can we recommence.

The ML Regulations require us to “know” our clients or where as in the case of re-mortgaging, our clients customer.  This is achieved by you promptly complying with our requests for your Identification in two parts.  The first is your name, and the second is your address.  We shall request you to supply various documents and have to tell you that unless our requests are complied with, we shall not be able to continue acting for you or (where appropriate) continue to deal with the matter for your client where you are the customer.

These notes are not intended as a comprehensive guide to ML and/or POCA.  Further details can be supplied on request – provided you do not seek our advice on the Law or a way to circumvent it.

These notes also form part of our Retainer which means they will be treated for all purposes as being part of our instructions to us, even if you are a customer of our client for the purpose of such matters as a re-mortgage, and we do not act for you directly.

Please be assured that the purpose of this Note is as a polite warning, and is sent, as a matter of course, to all our clients and (where appropriate) customers of our clients.

Storage of Documents

 After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses. After our charges are settled, we will return to you any hard copy papers from your file that you request and will retain your file in a digital format. We will retain that data for at least six years in accordance with our data retention periods.  A copy of our Data Retention Policy can be made available to you upon request. Storage is on the clear understanding that we have the right to delete your data after such period as we consider reasonable, and unless you contact us to the contrary, we will deem that we have your consent to do so, or to make a charge for storage if we ask you to collect any papers and you fail to do so. We will not of course destroy any documents such as Wills, Deeds, and other securities, which you ask us to hold in safe custody.

If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, we may make a charge based on time spent for reproducing stored papers / documents or digital files to you or another at your request. We may also charge for reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions.  We also confirm that we reserve the right to raise a charge for retrieving the file of papers from storage in general.  At present our standard charge for doing so is £50.00 plus Vat

Data Protection

We use the information you provide primarily for providing our legal services to you and for related purposes as described in our Privacy Policy which can be found on our website at www.174familylaw.co.uk. This includes:

• Updating and enhancing client records
• Conducting checks to identify you, verify your identity and screen for financial or other sanctions
• Analysis to help us manage our practice
• Statutory returns
• Legal and regulatory compliance.

174 Family Law is a Data Controller for the purposes of delivering the Services. Our use of your information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 2018 and our duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties such as the Land Registry, counsel and other professional advisers.

We may from time to time send you information and updates about legal developments that we think might be of interest to you and/or our services and events. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify us, preferably in writing.

As we practice within a firm of solicitors, we are under a general professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs private.  However, we are required by current legislation to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves money laundering or terrorist financing.  By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to the NCA if we consider it appropriate.  You agree that this authority overrides any confidentiality or entitlement to legal professional privilege.  We shall be unable to tell you if we have made a report.

We are accredited by the Law Society’s LEXCEL standard being the highest legal quality assurance level LQAL achievable in the UK.  We also hold a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and can offer to our clients who are eligible public funding.  To maintain these standards / contracts , auditors review our practices and procedures on an annual basis.  This includes review of client files.  We have an external PPC / Supervisor who also has to review our files independently as part of our regulatory requirements. Again, in signing to our terms and conditions you are providing your authority for the release of your file to LEXCEL / Legal Aid Agency auditors and PPC.

Individuals have a right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to obtain certain information from us about the data we hold about you. You will find the information you are entitled to here https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/getting-copies-of-your-information-subject-access-request/getting-a-response-to-your-subject-access-request/ . Please note that my notes, written or otherwise, are unstructured manual records and are my personal notes.   A SAR under Data Protection law does not cover this nor does it cover

The release of any materials which make reference to you where releasing such material may prejudice the data protection of that third party. We may however elect to send redacted copies for your records. It is however important to note that in the event of any such request being made pursuant to the Subject Access request Procedure and documentation being released to you the status of that documentation still remains confidential and without prejudice in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to Mediate and cannot be produced in court.

Should you have any queries concerning this right please contact the Data Protection Manager at info@174familylaw.co.uk.

Confidentiality

As solicitors, we are under a general professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs private.  However, we are required by current legislation to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves money laundering or terrorist financing.  By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to the NCA if we consider it appropriate.  You agree that this authority overrides any confidentiality or entitlement to legal professional privilege.  We shall be unable to tell you if we have made a report.

We are accredited by the Law Society’s LEXCEL standard being the highest legal quality assurance level LQAL achievable in the UK.  We also hold a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and can offer to our clients who are eligible public funding.  To maintain these standards / contracts , auditors review our practices and procedures on an annual basis.  This includes review of client files.  Again, in signing to our terms and conditions you are providing your authority for the release of your file to LEXCEL / Legal Aid Agency auditors.

To ensure the best quality and efficient service to our clients, we may well elect to store client documentation relating to this retainer in secure client portals in the Cloud.  Only those who you have authorised can gain access to this portal.  In signing this retainer, you are giving your consent to your documents being stored in this way.

Limited companies

     When accepting instructions to act on behalf of a limited company, we may require a Director andor controlling shareholder to sign a form of personal guarantee in respect of the charges and expenses of this firm. If such a request is refused, we will be entitled to stop acting and to require immediate payment of our charges on an hourly basis and expenses as set out earlier.

Tax advice

     No Director or employee, of this firm, holds himself out as qualified to give advice regarding matters of taxation and, therefore, all enquiries relating to matters of taxation should be referred to a suitably qualified accountant.

     If you have any concerns in this respect, please raise them with us immediately. If we cannot assist, we may be able to identify a source of assistance for you.

About Us

174 Family Law and Family Mediation Solutions are trading styles of HLP LEGAL LIMITED Company Registration No. 12064088 registered office The Lauries  142 Claughton Road Birkenhead Wirral CH41 6EY) Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (registration number 660373) This firm is not a successor practice of 174 Law Solicitors Limited.

Thank you, finally, for taking the trouble to read this letter.  I hope that it has been of some assistance to you.  As confirmation that you would like us to proceed on the above basis.  I should be grateful if you would sign the extra copy of this letter enclosed and return it to me together with cheque made payable to “174 Family Law” and I look forward to the speedy conclusion of this matter on your behalf.

By attending the mediation information and assessment meeting, you agree to the terms set out here.