Following a week in which the edifice of capitalism fractured and tumbled as its once-mighty pillars turned to dust, the question has to arise: are we witnessing a paradigm shift? 

With governments acting in ways that would have been unthinkable even a year ago, it is certainly a time for challenging old certainties.  

If a new world order is born of all the this chaos, it won't do so without rancour and recrimination. Speaking at Legal Week's litigation conference last week, Lord Falconer suggested that the collapse of Lehman Brothers would be 'the largest insolvency in the history of capitalism'  and, naturally, a welcome turning point in a pale litigation market. 

He envisaged an era of 'mega-disputes' propelled by commercial activity in the FSU and 'the huge mess which is being left by the fall-out of the credit crunch.' 

He might well be right: those with legal budgets to chuck about like chicken feed might fight to the death, but this time round clients have alternatives. Mediation will undoubtedly grow through this crisis. Mediators should brace themselves for an upsurge in work and position themselves accordingly.  

To make the most of it, though, mediation must put its own house in order. Confidentiality is thought to be a central feature of mediation, but as Bill Wood QC demonstrates in When Girls Go Wild, the position is not black and white. Wood concludes that a separate and distinct mediation privilege is unnecessary and unjustified. Not everyone agrees. Wood's feature is, nevertheless, the most comprehensive analysis of the topic yet published. 

Elsewhere we bring you an update on the restructuring and re-branding of the UK's elite mediators collective, PIM; and further developments from IMI as it prepares to launch. 

And finally, if you imagined mediators were born conciliators, read about Henry Brown's days as a young firebrand civil rights lawyer in South Africa. Who says mediators aren't up for a fight? 

We will publish again in November with all the news from the CIArb symposium. Until then, enjoy this issue, and feel free to email your comments. 

Matthew Rushton 

Editor