CEDR's Sixth Mediation Audit in 2014 was based on responses from mediators and lawyers.  

When asked to rank the relative significance of various factors in determining why particular individuals secured commercial mediation appointments, there were several noticeable differences between mediators and lawyers.

In 2014, the top 5 factors for mediators were: 

1) Professional reputation - experience/status (which was 3rd for lawyers)
2) Availability (which was 1st for lawyers)
3) Professional background/qualifications (which was 4th for lawyers)
4) Recommendation - by lawyer in previous case (which was 7th for lawyers)
5) Fee levels (which was also 5th for lawyers)

The 2nd most important factor for lawyers was 'Professional reputation - mediation style', which mediators ranked only 7th.

Mediators had ranked 'Professional reputation - experience/status' 1st for each of the audits in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2014.  Where as lawyers had ranked it 1st in 2007, 2010 and 2012 but only 3rd in the 2014 Audit.

In 2014 lawyers ranked both 'Availability' and 'Professional Reputation - mediation style' higher than they had in any of the previous Audits.

A link to the 2014 CEDR Sixth Mediation Audit can be found here.