Beyond the Courtroom: Rethinking the Lawyer’s Role in Mediation

The role of a lawyer is often associated with arguments, evidence and the pursuit of victory. But what happens when the objective is not to win against the other side, but to help a client find a solution?

This question formed the foundation of an engaging guest lecture, “Mediation Advocacy 101: Can a Lawyer Be a Good Mediation Advocate?”, organised by the School of Legal Studies, K.R. Mangalam University on 14 September 2026.

The session was led by Anubhab Banerjee, Founder, SettleWiseNow, and was organised as an interactive learning experience for law students.

From Litigation to Resolution

The session began by encouraging students to think beyond the traditional adversarial understanding of legal practice. A key starting point was the question:

Why does a client come to a lawyer?

While legal representation is often viewed through the lens of disputes and courtroom advocacy, lawyers can also play an important role in helping clients understand their options, evaluate interests and work towards resolution.

The discussion introduced students to the Dispute Resolution Spectrum, covering:

Negotiation → Mediation → Adjudication → Arbitration

This provided a useful framework for understanding that dispute resolution is not limited to litigation or adjudication. Different disputes require different approaches, and lawyers need to understand where and how each process can add value.

When the Lawyer's Role Changes

One of the important themes of the lecture was the difference between the role of a lawyer in an adversarial setup and a non-adversarial setup.

In a traditional adversarial environment, the lawyer is expected to advocate strongly for the client's position. Mediation, however, requires a different mindset. The lawyer must continue to protect the client's interests while also understanding the broader dynamics of the dispute and the possibility of a mutually workable resolution.

This requires lawyers to develop skills that go beyond legal knowledge—including the ability to listen, understand interests, communicate effectively and support constructive dialogue.

The presentation specifically explored the difference between the role of a lawyer in an adversarial setup versus a non-adversarial setup, making this an important point of reflection for aspiring lawyers.

Learning Through Experience

The session was not limited to a conventional lecture format. Students also participated in an interactive arm-wrestling exercise, conducted in groups of two.

Such experiential activities helped shift the conversation from simply understanding mediation as a concept to thinking about how negotiation, interests and dispute resolution operate in practice.

For law students, these experiences are particularly valuable because professional legal practice increasingly demands the ability to choose the right process for the right dispute, rather than approaching every disagreement as a matter for litigation.

Building Future-Ready Legal Professionals

The session highlighted an important reality for today's law students: being a good lawyer is not only about knowing the law—it is also about knowing how to resolve problems.

As alternative dispute resolution mechanisms continue to gain importance, mediation advocacy presents an opportunity for lawyers to expand their professional toolkit. A lawyer who understands mediation can help clients assess not only their legal rights, but also their interests, priorities and possible pathways towards settlement.

For students at the School of Legal Studies, the lecture offered an opportunity to look at advocacy from a different perspective—one where success may not necessarily mean defeating the opposing side, but helping the parties move forward.

A Conversation Beyond the Courtroom

The guest lecture served as a meaningful reminder that the future of legal practice is broader than the courtroom.

Negotiation, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution require lawyers to combine legal understanding with empathy, strategy, communication and problem-solving.

And perhaps that is the real answer to the question posed during the session:

Can a lawyer be a good mediation advocate?

Yes—but becoming one requires learning to advocate not only for a client, but also with a solution in mind.

The courtroom teaches lawyers how to argue. Mediation teaches them how to resolve. Through his engaging session, Anubhab Banerjee encouraged students to look beyond the traditional boundaries of advocacy and recognise that some of the most meaningful victories in law are the disputes that never make it to trial.