Mediation legal aid in England and Wales
Family Mediation legal aid pays for trained mediators to help separating couples and families reach agreement on issues such as living arrangements, finances after separation, and time spent with children. Attending a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting is usually a legal requirement before applying to family court.
Providers on LawStreet
Offices on LawStreet
Postcode areas covered
Showing 24 of 90 Mediation providers from the LAA's directory. Why?
About this category
What is Mediation legal aid?
Who family mediation legal aid is for
Separating couples and families often need to sort out practical matters: where the children live, how time is split between parents, what happens to the family home and savings, who pays for what. Most of these matters are no longer covered by Family legal aid (they were taken out of scope in 2013), but Mediation legal aid remains.
Family mediation is a structured, confidential process where a trained mediator helps the parties reach their own agreements without going to court. The mediator doesn't take sides, doesn't give legal advice, and doesn't make decisions; they facilitate the parties making decisions themselves.
What's covered
Family Mediation legal aid covers:
- MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting): an initial meeting with a mediator to assess whether mediation is suitable. Required in most cases before applying to family court. Legal aid pays for the MIAM if either party qualifies financially.
- Mediation sessions: usually 2-5 sessions covering child arrangements, finances, property, or all of these. If either party qualifies financially for legal aid, both parties' mediation costs are covered. The mediator is the legal aid contract holder.
- Memorandum of Understanding: a written summary the mediator produces at the end of mediation, capturing what the parties agreed.
- Solicitor advice alongside mediation: limited solicitor work to advise on the mediated agreement before it's made into a court order. This is on the family-solicitor side, not the mediator side.
Mediation works best where both parties want to reach agreement but are stuck on how. It's not appropriate where there is domestic abuse, where one party has significantly more power than the other, or where one party isn't willing to participate.
How to apply
Contact a family mediator with a legal aid contract. They will arrange a MIAM as the first step. The MIAM assesses both whether mediation is suitable for your situation and whether you qualify financially for legal aid.
If mediation is appropriate and one party qualifies on the means test, the mediator can begin mediation. Both parties' costs are covered by the qualifying party's legal aid; the non-qualifying party does not need to pay separately.
If mediation isn't appropriate (often because of domestic abuse evidence), the MIAM produces a certificate that allows the matter to proceed to court without the mediation requirement.
Coverage detail
Mediation outreach providers
Mediation providers with outreach venues alongside their main office.
Where a provider is not listed on our platform we show the scheme without the firm name. For the official complete list, see gov.uk's Find a Legal Aid Adviser.
Find a solicitor
Featured Mediation providers
A selection of firms on our platform holding an active Mediation contract. View the full list of Mediation solicitors with legal aid.
Where they are based
Mediation providers by region
Listed Mediation providers grouped by region and postcode area. Counts show distinct providers with at least one office in that area.
East Midlands 4
East of England 3
North West 3
South East 8
South West 2
Wales 1
West Midlands 5
Yorkshire and The Humber 5
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. The first step in family mediation, and a legal requirement before most family court applications. The mediator explains how mediation works, looks at whether your situation is suitable, and (if so) explains how to start. If mediation isn't suitable, the meeting produces an exemption certificate for court.
No. Mediation only works if both parties participate voluntarily. If your ex doesn't agree to come, the MIAM you attend will result in a certificate showing you tried, and you can apply to court. The court may direct the parties to consider mediation later in the process.
The qualifying party's legal aid covers both parties' costs. The non-qualifying party doesn't have to pay separately; the mediator is paid through the legal aid claim. This reflects how mediation works as a joint process.
No. Counselling is about understanding emotions and the relationship. Mediation is about reaching practical agreements on specific issues (children, finances, property). They serve different purposes; some couples do both, others just one or the other.
The mediator writes up a Memorandum of Understanding setting out what you agreed. For most matters, you can ask a solicitor to convert the agreement into a court order (which makes it legally binding); some Family solicitors hold legal aid contracts for this limited solicitor work alongside mediation. Even without a court order, the agreement is usually a useful record both parties can refer back to.