Introduction

As a practical matter, it is not uncommon for mediators to advertise their services, solicit work, and charge fees. These activities will naturally increase in scope as mediation becomes more professionalized and is practiced by people who consider it their main occupation. Engaging in these marketing and business activities can raise ethical concerns that need to be addressed by a theory of mediators’ ethics. Indeed, codes of conduct for mediators usually include provisions on advertising and solicitation, and on mediator fees. It should be noted, however, that these are not genuine or primary norms of ethical conduct, in the same sense as party self-determination, mediator competence, impartiality, and the other ethical norms discussed in the previous chapters. While the latter norms derive directly from role-morality or what I have called a perspective-from-above of mediators’ ethics, advertising, solicitation, and fees are norms that derive from the actual practice of mediation as reflected in many codes of conduct for mediators, to which I have referred as a perspective-from-below of mediators’ ethics. While every mediator must respect the parties’ ethical right to self-determination, must be competent to conduct the mediation, and must maintain confidentiality, advertising, solicitation of cases, and charging fees are not compulsory and mediators may decide not to engage in these activities. However, once a mediator does engage in these activities, his or her conduct need be regulated by the norms of role-morality – i.e., his or her activity must conform to the norms of party self-determination, mediator impartiality, etc. – and by any particular norms regulating these activities that are contained in a particular code of conduct applicable to him or her, if any. The consistency with which many codes of conduct for mediators handle advertising, solicitation and mediator fees, together with the guidance of the norms of role-morality, makes it possible to suggest a minimum content for ethical advertising, solicitation and fees provisions that are applicable to all mediators. This chapter discusses briefly the rationale for such norms from a mediators’ ethics perspective and the content of these norms.