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GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1988
It seems to me that the next goal
should be greater co-operation and
understanding between mediators
and family lawyers. It is no acci-
dent that one of the best articles in
the booklet by the Family Media-
tion Service is by Mary Lloyd who
is not only a mediator but also a
solicitor. In her articles she points
out that the success of mediation
may be dependent upon the very
existence of the courts and the
potential for litigation. Mediation
works best when guidelines exist
as to how the law would be applied
to resolve the dispute. Lawyers
need to make an effort to educate
themselves as to how mediation
works; thus they can understand
where mediation is useful and what
couples are best to refer to the
mediation service. Dare I suggest
that mediators too should educate
themselves to avoid blanket con-
demnations of lawyers and to
understand how normal family
lawyers and experienced general
solicitors wo rk in the context of
marriage breakdown. The Law
Society has made a beginning by
providing speakers on mediation at
some of its seminars but there is a
need for more small groups to meet
face to face for in depth discus-
sions of our common problems.
•
Handw r i t i ng & Sub j ect
Document Ana l ys is
Michael Rasmussen,
Mayanncor Ltd.
19, Woodside, Rathnew,
Co. Wicklow.
Telephone: 0404-69474
Pract ice
Note
Re g i s t e r ed M a i l /
Re g i s t r a t i on o f Va l u a b le
D o c u m e n t s
Some concern has been expressed
by practitioners in recent months
about the low level of compensa-
tion available from the Post Office
where registered letters or parcels
are lost. The normal registered fee
is 95p but only allows compensa-
tion up to a maximum of £20.
However, many practitioners may
not be aware that there is in fact
a rising scale of charges running
from 95p at the lower end of the
scale to £1.95 at the top end of the
scale a t t r ac t i ng compensa t i on
betweeen £20 and £1 , 000.
The scale is as follows:
Fee
M a x i m um
Comp e n s a t i on
.95
£20
£1 . 05
£ 1 00
£1 . 15
£200
£1 . 25
£300
£1 . 35
£ 4 00
£1 .45
£500
£1 .55
£600
£1 .65
£700
£1 .75
£800
£1 .85
£900
£1 .95
£1 , 000
Clearly if documents are valued
at more than £1 , 000 they can be
split up into separate packages and
franked up to the maximum value
required.
It may be that some practices are
sending high value items through
the mail on a regular basis and in
that situation they are advised to
consider whether they should take
out a separate practice insurance
policy to cover any losses which
might arise. Because registered
mail is subject to close supervision
and is signed for at each step of its
journey, insurance companies are
mo re i nc l i ned t o o f f er ve ry
reasonable terms for insurance.
Practitioners should also note
that An Post operates an express
mail system exactly the same as
the various courier firms, where
each individual item up to a max-
imum t wo kilos in weight is insured
for £ 5 , 0 00 actual loss, £ 1 0 , 0 00
consequential loss. Items send by
express mail are guaranteed next
day delivery. It is wo r th noting that
the commercial couriers will only
cover parcels for £100 actual loss.
It may be that practitioners are
experiencing current difficulties
w i th the registered mail or express
system and if this is the case the
Society wou ld be glad to file these
complaints w i th An Post. In the
meantime it is hoped that the infor-
mation supplied above will be of
practical use to practitioners.
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