Mediation Explained

Litigation and blame culture have overshadowed the ‘common sense’ approach to disputes, with claimants hoping for rich rewards, perhaps on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. The stark reality is that for many legal battles, there is no clear ‘winner’, with cases taking months or even years to be decided, often resulting in a smaller payout than expected and leaving both sides less than satisfied. These days, many cases won’t be heard in court unless Mediation has first been attempted.

My role as an accredited Mediator is to structure a process and use my skills and experience to facilitate a settlement to a dispute. I will listen carefully to everything that is said and use this information to assist the participants to build a lasting resolution. I will not express any opinion or give advice or suggest what may happen if they went to court. I will help participants to persuade each other that a resolution reached by them is a better alternative than having a protracted, legal dispute.

Whilst I specialise in financial and contractual issues and disputes in the field of Education, which may involve staff, students, trusts, suppliers or funders, my skills apply to any type of dispute. All mediations conducted will follow the European Code of Conduct for Mediators, a copy of which can be downloaded here.