I am able to offer mediation services in any of my practice areas, with my coleague Abigail Lenart. Abigail qualified as a mediator with the ADR group in 2015 and has significant experience as a County Court Advocate.
We operate as a team, which provides the parties to a mediation with a considerable advantage.
Based on my experience of attending a large number of mediations in my (circa) 15 years of practice, I beleive that the qualities required for a succesful mediator are:
- Empathy for the parties positions.
- Lateral thinking (often a dispute can be resolved with solutions that a Court would not be able to order. Additionally, often the parties want something from each other outside of their pleaded case. For example in a neighbour harasmment dispute, this may be resolved by one party buying the property of the other).
- A quick an incisive anaylsis, so that the strengths and weaknesses of the party’s case can be explained succintly.
- Demonstrating that they have reviewed the papers throughly.
- The ability to listen.
- Thje ability to explain the strengths and weakness of a case without appearing to give an opinion or demonstrate bias.
- Ensuring that the parties do not make tactical and insincere offers, which mean that the gap cannot be bridged within the day allocated for mediaiton.
Our fees are competitive; we will offer a fixed fee upon review of the papers. Our average fee for a multi track case would be £1500.
We are offering our clients, two mediators for the price of one. The additional perspective, may prove invaluable and may be the difference between a settlement being achieved or not.