anonym.legal
United Kingdom — UK GDPR & DPA 2018

Without prejudice mediation correspondence: pseudonymise before internal review – UK GDPR-compliant anonymisation

Without prejudice correspondence is a class of settlement communication — including Calderbank offers and mediation position statements — that is inadmissible in proceedings but contains personal data about parties and third parties; anonym.legal pseudonymises non-party identifiers in such documents — data shows that over 12,000 mediations were conducted in England and Wales in 2023 (Civil Mediation Council statistics).

When this applies

Applies when a solicitor is preparing or reviewing without-prejudice save as to costs correspondence, Calderbank offers, or mediation position statements that reference third-party personal data. CPR Part 36 offers carry a 21-day relevant period; mediation position statements in commercial disputes above £25,000 frequently reference 10 or more third-party individuals.

How anonym.legal handles it

  1. Upload draft without-prejudice correspondence or position statement in DOCX or PDF.
  2. Configure the party-names allow-list to retain your client's and opponent's names in clear.
  3. anonym.legal pseudonymises third-party names and other personal identifiers in the document.
  4. Settlement figures, legal arguments, and without-prejudice headings are preserved in full.
  5. A reversible mapping is stored with EU data residency.
  6. Re-identify when finalising correspondence for despatch to the opposing party or mediator.

What you provide

  • Draft without-prejudice letter or Calderbank offer (DOCX or PDF)
  • Mediation position statement (optional)
  • Party-names allow-list

Limitations & cautions

  • anonym.legal does not review or advise on whether correspondence is properly marked 'without prejudice' or 'without prejudice save as to costs'.
  • The without-prejudice privilege of correspondence is a legal question — whether privilege applies is for the solicitor to determine.
  • Misuse of third-party personal data in settlement correspondence can attract UK GDPR fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover under DPA 2018 s.157.

FAQ

What is a Calderbank offer in civil litigation proceedings?

A Calderbank offer is a without-prejudice save as to costs offer to settle. It can be brought to the court's attention on the question of costs after judgment, notwithstanding its without-prejudice status. CPR Part 36 provides an alternative structured offer regime with a 21-day relevant period.

Can mediators receive the pseudonymised version of position statements?

You may share a pseudonymised position statement with the mediator for internal advance review. According to the Civil Mediation Council, over 12,000 mediations were conducted in England and Wales in 2023; mediators typically need a full-name version for the mediation itself.

Does processing without-prejudice correspondence affect its privileged status?

anonym.legal processes your document offline using EU data residency. We do not advise on privilege — that is a matter for your solicitor. Processing does not in itself affect the without-prejudice status of the document.

Related tasks

Civil Litigation