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

Getting Started as a Mediator, Second Edition is a practical, realistic guide for aspiring and early-career mediators who want to enter the profession with clarity, professionalism, and sound judgment.

Becoming a mediator involves far more than completing a training program. It requires understanding the mediator's role, building credibility, learning how to work with represented and self-represented parties, developing sound intake and communication practices, and creating the business infrastructure necessary to sustain a professional practice over time.

In this expanded second edition, Clay Phillips provides grounded, experience-based guidance on the real work of entering the mediation field. Readers are helped to think carefully about training, mentorship, early development, financial readiness, practice-building, and the long-term professional habits that support a durable and respected mediation practice.

Clear, candid, and encouraging, this book is designed for those who want more than a general overview of mediation. It is for those who want to begin wisely, build steadily, and grow into the kind of mediator people can trust.