Letter: Defending mediators

Sir: Peter Pringle does us mediators a disservice ('Lawyers on a slippery slope', 5 April). We are rarely retired judges charging hefty fees. We are more often middle-aged professionals who earn a decent living in honorable work, helping stalemated disputants break deadlocks to reach truce, even accord. I have been mediating disputes in Denver, Colorado, for 13 years and am currently visiting the UK, where mediation is becoming fast established.

In mediation, my clients do not only seek to avoid the courts but to salvage or restore broken relationships. Where yesterday's opponents may become tomorrow's allies, mediation is increasingly a dispute resolution process of choice, endorsed by lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sincerely,

JENNA E. BROWN

London, SW12