March 2005

CEDR Solve mediation statistics 2004

Mediation market continues steady growth CEDR Solve's caseload for 2004 increased by 8 per cent to a total of 693 cases compared to 642 in 2003. This increase was primarily attributable to growth in court and sector-specific schemes. A record 502 law firms used CEDR Solve for dispute interventions in 2004. Settlement rates for commercial cases remained steady, with 75 per cent of cases settling on the day of mediation or shortly thereafter.

Two-party, one-day mediations are still the most common form of commercial mediation, although 11 per cent of CEDR Solve's caseload involved three or more parties. 51 per cent of parties came from outside London, although London retains its position as the most favoured location for mediations, with 61 per cent taking place there last year. 11 per cent of cases involved one or more international parties, which is almost twice last year's level. Scheme activity Activity on court-annexed schemes rose by 42 per cent, with particular growth in the Central London County Court and in the Court of Appeal Mediation Scheme which is administered by CEDR Solve. Newly introduced sector schemes such as the CEDR Solve Personal Injury Mediation Scheme and a pilot scheme for cases under 50,000 each recorded their first successful cases whilst the more established NCVO/CEDR Solve scheme for the voluntary sector achieved growth of 46 per cent alongside a settlement rate of over 80 per cent. Dispute sectors Case activity continues to be spread across a broad range of sectors, with supply of goods and services retaining its leading position at 22 per cent (up from 18 per cent last year). Sectors

showing particular growth in the year included personal injury (up by 32 per cent) and property and construction (up by 7 per cent), whilst finance cases fell by 33 per cent. Case values also continued to show a widely spread profile, with the proportion of cases worth over 1 million remaining unchanged at 18 per cent.

81 per cent of cases came to mediation through mutual agreement between the parties. This is an increase on last year's (74 per cent), suggesting that more and more organisations are coming to the mediation table with no direct intervention needed from the courts. Alongside these mediations, CEDR Solve provided a range of other third-party processes, with particular growth in Early Neutral Evaluation and Expert Determination assignments (eight cases in 2004). Demand also grew for CEDR Solve to facilitate sensitive organisational conflicts as an independent non-profit service. Commenting on the statistics, Eileen Carroll, CEDR Deputy Chief Executive and Director of CEDR Solve services said: "The scale of over 500 law firms using CEDR Solve in a year indicates how much our status as an independent non-profit service has established us as an effective resource for the legal profession and its' clients." Summary of statistics

693 cases mediated - 8 per cent increase on 2003 Settlement rate remains steady at 75 per cent Significant growth in international cases Court scheme cases increased by 42 per cent Use of the NCVO/CEDR Solve scheme for the voluntary sector increased by 46 per cent.