News of the Committee's proposed abolition only came to light on 28 October when Chairman Robin ap Cynan received the news and began a campaign to resist the proposal. The Law Society maintains that the question of the future of the ADR Committee had 'been on the table since June of this year', but those Committee members interviewed by The Mediator Magazine were unaware of such proposals.

In the period between 28 October and the Council vote on 12 November over 30 mediators and interested professionals wrote to The Law Society President Paul Marsh urging that they reconsider the proposal. In response, Marsh indicated that ap Cynan and ADR committee member Jenny Gracie would speak against the proposal on 12 November and draw to the Council's attention the strength of feeling on the matter. 

In the event, there was no debate. The Council first voted for a guillotine motion to terminate discussion, then voted 42 to 21 - with 7 abstentions - in favour of the Committee's abolition. 

Responsibility for ADR within the Law Society now rests with the Civil Justice Committee and the Family Law Committee. The former is chaired by Yorkshire-based travel law solicitor Stephen Mason. In a letter to The Law Society Gazette on 23 October Mason made plain his view that 'any increase in the use of mediation needs...only to be modest.' 

The Law Society hopes to recruit at least one ADR representative to sit on these committees.