Bermuda could save cash and cut stress by using mediation to solve conflicts, lawyer Keren Lomas told Hamilton Lions.

She said 90 percent of mediations, done through a neutral party, reach a settlement.

The head of Bercorp Ltd, which offers mediation locally and internationally, said this could mean aggrieved parties didn't need to resort to court action. "Most mediations last one day, or at most two days, and the overall fee of each party is nominal, particularly when considering the cost of lawyers, experts and time if the case goes to trial."

She said the preparation for mediation was not wasted as it would be needed as preparation for trial or hearing or further settlement negotiations.

"My local experience shows that a well-structured mediation lasts five hours with the parties reach a binding settlement even in a moderately complex case."

She said they were possible to do at a cost of $1,000 each. "Compare this with litigation costs approaching $30,000 for each party."

And she said there were other costs than financial from on-going strife. She said: "In a small community unresolved conflicts create disharmony and the effects of such unresolved conflicts seem to magnify just because of the Island's unique smallness."

She said the Bermuda Bar Association rule of professional conduct required a barrister to advise and encourage a client to settle a dispute whenever it helped their client.

The local branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (an internationally organisation based in London) is about to publish rules for the conduct of arbitration and rules for the conduct of mediations and will hold a mediation training workshop in May this year. Architects, builders, project managers, quantity surveyors, engineers as well as lawyers could all benefit, suggested Ms. Lomas.

She added: "I met a quantity surveyor recently who had just conducted his first mediation of a construction dispute. It is easy to see that mediation has a special place in the resolution of disputes which arise on a construction site, for a successful negotiation of the dispute prevents disruption of the project and saves time and money for contractors and owners."