The Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) inducted over 600 students of the Nigerian Law School into the Institute as Associate Members on Monday, November 25, 2019, in Abuja.

The Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators is the professional body of practitioners with the mandate to regulate the practice of Mediation, train prospective candidates, and encourage organizations and institutions to adopt Mediation and Conciliation as the primary means for addressing disputes.

In fulfillment of her mandate of spreading the advocacy of Mediation and Conciliation, and to prepare the prospective legal practitioners for legal practice, the Institute trained over 700 students of the Nigerian Law School across all campuses during the 2018/2019 academic session. In line with the Institute’s unwavering policy, only the participants who were successful in the accreditation examination and submitted their post-course assignments were inducted into the Institute as Associate Members on November 25th, 2019.

During this Special Induction Ceremony, the Registrar of the Institute, ‘Segun Ogunyannwo, warmly welcomed the new inductees to the Institute and applauded them for equipping themselves with Mediation skills which will aid them in assisting disputing parties in an assured, confident and professional manner.

The Registrar reminded all present of the importance of the provisions of Rule 15 (3) (d) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (2007) which provides that in the representation of his client, a lawyer must inform his client of the option of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms before resorting to, or continuing litigation, on behalf of his client.

The President of ICMC, Emeka J.P. Obegolu, charged the inductees to join one of the twenty branches of the Institute across Nigeria and participate actively, continue to improve their capacity in ADR practice, and take up the gauntlet to support to efforts of the Institute to mainstream Mediation and Conciliation in Nigeria.

He further assured them of the unwavering support of the Institute and her membership body; which numbers over 8,000, in their ADR practice endeavours.

The Ceremony also featured special recognition and presentation of awards to the students who graduated with a First Class from the Nigerian Law School and students who were outstanding during the Institute’s Mediation Skills Accreditation and Certification Training.

This Special Induction Ceremony is a prelude to the Institute’s Annual ADR Conference and Induction Ceremony, which will witness the Induction of over 2,000 individuals as Associate Members, Members, and Fellows of ICMC.

This year is a milestone year for ICMC, as she will also be celebrating the 20th year of her existence with a 20th Anniversary Dinner, a book presentation and documentary on the History of ICMC in Nigeria, and presentation of awards to individuals and organizations who have distinguished themselves in the ADR industry.

The ADR Conference, Induction Ceremony & 20th Anniversary Dinner of ICMC is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 3 December 2019.

To register for this event, kindly visit https://icmcng.org/portal