Willis is conscious of outside criticism, but rejects it: ‘There is the view,’ he said, ‘that PIM has outlived its usefulness, but I don’t share that view.’ He continued, ‘I still think the market is sufficiently confused for there to be value in the most experienced people saying – without too much pomposity – “we are the most experienced people; come to one of our number and you are overwhelmingly likely to get a good quality mediation.”’ 

Willis does give nay-sayers some credit however, saying questions about whether PIM has outlived its usefulness are ‘intellectually respectable.’ PIM’s original purpose was to promote the needs and interests of its members who no longer wished to operate exclusively under the wing of a service provider. Eight years on, its members each have a thriving practice and as a group enjoy an unassailable leadership position in the market. PIM’s role in achieving this, however, is questionable: ‘We launched at a time when the market was quite different,’ Willis said. ‘We have trotted along reasonably successfully, but not actually pushed the brand very hard.’

Plans for the future are unclear at present: ‘Currently we are 19. Whether we should be 19, 15 or 40, I don’t have a strong view,’ Willis said. ‘I am engaged in a consultation process at the moment to get a sense of where it all wants to go, how far we push this commercially.’

For now PIM will continue as it has done, representing what Willis calls ‘a gold standard,’ and fulfilling a social need among its members. ‘There’s a strong sense of collegiality,’ according to Willis. ‘We are a group of people who get on fantastically well. Collegiality and best practice value of PIM is not to be disregarded,’ he concluded.