Why is the Mediation Industry Growing when we’re in a Recession?

While SA enters another economic recession, many of us are buckling down and tightening our belts. Currently, the number of unemployed adults outnumber those with jobs. But what does this mean for the SA Mediation Industry? We spoke to industry and government experts to get the story. Here’s what we found:

The Mediation Industry is Growing Generically in two ways

When the amount of money available at the end of a month decreases, consumers make more effort to evaluate purchases and change their spending patterns. Think of spending on cars vs lift clubs or spending on Android phones vs Apple phones. Though mediators are able to charge hourly rates that are on par with attorneys, the process itself is more efficient than litigation and this means bigger savings for clients. Though this trend is not new in our industry, current economic conditions are amplifying this effect.

Government is Driving Growth in the SA Mediation Industry

Since the DOJ’s call to action for mediators in December 2017, it has successfully driven implementation of the court ordered appointment process in GP, NW, LP and MP. In addition to this, both court and private sector implementations have seen an unexpected increase in provinces outside of the DOJ's initial project scope. Officials are however keeping a tight guard on the details.

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