accreditations & partnerships
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Hotspots are emerging in commercial insurance disputes and it’s my view that some new thinking is needed into how these disputes can be resolved.
At the recent Dispute Resolution Forum I had the honour of chairing a panel on the question of why in-house counsel use arbitration or mediation rather than litigation to resolve their disputes. Despite a wide range of industries represented around our virtual table it soon became clear that the...
The recent costs decision in Beattie Passive Norse Ltd & Anor v Canham Consulting Ltd (No. 2 Costs) has caught the attention of many commentators because of the stark differences between what was claimed by the Claimant (£3.7m) in damages and what was awarded (£2000) together with the punishin...
‘You must always be willing to truly consider evidence that contradicts your beliefs and admit the possibility that you may be wrong. Intelligence isn’t knowing everything, it’s the ability to challenge everything you know.’ ANON
The decision to move over to remote mediation was made for us by reason of the pandemic and as such ‘necessity was the mother of invention’. This necessity to change how mediations were conducted has provided mediators with an opportunity to assess not simply how mediations could be underta...
Informative, revealing and thought-provoking – London International Disputes Week certainly gave mediators and lawyers pause for thought. Here, I reflect on some of the issues covered…
The judgment of Mrs Justice Collins Rice in Kumar v L.B. of Hillingdon [2020] EWHC 3326 is, to my mind, essential reading, particularly given the present debate around compulsory mediation. It’s not in itself a case about compulsion, although Hillingdon were told in no uncertain terms to just ...
Before Covid-19, in-person mediation was the norm. Then came the pandemic and remote mediation moved into pole position. Now, as lockdown restrictions start to ease there’s an opportunity for a blended approach that offers the best of both worlds.
It’s encouraging that mediation is now seen as the preferred route to resolution for many in the commercial litigation world. Less heartening is that the public sector is lagging behind. The reluctance of public organisations to explore mediation is disappointing. As well as the obvious benefi...
SEN mediation isn’t my usual area of practice but a case that recently caught my eye was Kumar v The London Borough of Hillingdon [2020] EWHC 3326 (Admin) which concerned the issue of whether a mother who was challenging her son’s Educational and Health Care Plan (EHCP) was allowed to bring ...
It’s a question that a good mediator will explore before and during mediation. And it’s a question that legal advisors should consider, too. What is your client’s price of peace – and what is the opposing side’s price of peace?
I recently listened to an interview with one of my favourite authors, William Boyd, who was discussing the appeal of novels. He believed their popularity was down to the writer’s ability to portray in words exactly what a character was feeling – which, as he pointed out, was the opposite of ...