By the time a dispute reaches mediation, the issues are rarely just about the law. Positions may have hardened, communication may have become difficult and negotiations that once seemed capable of resolution may have stalled.

Mediation is not simply about finding a compromise.
Done well, it is a strategic process for making better decisions.

My commercial career included physical metals trading, international contracts and shipping, currency hedging, international sales and marketing, and responsibility for turning around an underperforming business division.

I negotiated as a buyer and a seller, worked across international markets and dealt with the everyday realities of commercial decision-making: margins, cash flow, risk, performance, relationships and the consequences when things do not go according to plan.

That experience matters in mediation. Businesses have to carry on doing business while disputes are being fought. Legal rights are important, but they sit within a much larger commercial picture.

I approach mediation not simply as a dispute-resolution process, but as a commercial negotiation in which legal rights form part of a wider picture.

Employment →

Wills, probate & inheritance →

Family business & shareholders →

Too much value can be left on the table before the mediation has even begun.

Good preparation is not simply about assembling the legal arguments. It means understanding the negotiation: the interests and pressures at play, the risks and alternatives, the assumptions being made, and where there may be value that has not yet been recognised.

I work with parties and their advisers before mediation to develop a clear strategy for the process, hone their objectives and consider how best to use the opportunity mediation creates.

Disputes are conducted through people, and people do not all think, communicate, process information or make decisions in the same way.

Understanding those differences is an important part of my work as a mediator.

Different ways of processing information, communicating and making decisions may require different approaches to the mediation process. I adapt the process to enable effective participation.

Experience in difficult disputes

Some disputes are difficult because of their complexity. Others become difficult because of the people and dynamics involved.
Often, it is both.

Reading what is happening in the room — and knowing when and how to intervene — is an important part of my role.

Particularly useful in cases involving complex personalities, which she can read like a book.

Chambers and Partners 2018

Not every dispute can or should settle.

My task is not to persuade parties to reach an agreement at any cost. It is to create the conditions in which the issues can be examined properly, assumptions tested, options explored and informed decisions made.

Sometimes the process leads to an agreement neither side could see at the beginning of the day.

Sometimes the value of mediation is clarity.

Either way, the objective is the same: to make the investment in the process worthwhile.