Getting Started as a Mediator: A Practical Guide to Entering, Building, and Sustaining a Mediation Practice

Thinking about becoming a mediator?Entering the mediation profession can be rewarding, meaningful, and deeply practical—but it is rarely as simple as completing a training and calling yourself a mediator. Success in this field requires more than an interest in conflict resolution. It requires preparation, judgment, professional discipline, and a realistic understanding of how mediation practice is actually built.In Getting Started as a Mediator, Second Edition, Clay Phillips provides a clear, grounded, and practical guide for aspiring and early-career mediators who want to enter the field thoughtfully and professionally. This expanded edition goes beyond general encouragement to address the real-world challenges of becoming a mediator, including training, mentorship, credibility, intake, working with attorneys and self-represented parties, business structure, financial readiness, and long-term professional growth.This book will help you:understand the mediator’s role and responsibilitiesevaluate whether mediation is the right professional path for youchoose training and development opportunities wiselybuild credibility when you are new to the fieldhandle first client contacts and pre-mediation preparation professionallywork effectively with attorneys, courts, referral sources, and self-represented partiesbuild the business infrastructure of a mediation practicethink realistically about finances, growth, sustainability, and professional legacyWhether you are exploring mediation as a new career, adding it to an existing professional path, or looking for a more complete roadmap into the profession, this book offers practical guidance, candid perspective, and steady encouragement.A wise mediation practice is not built overnight. But it can be built well. Read more