David Richbell

Mark Jackson-Stops, Head of Chambers, writes:

It is with a heavy heart that we at In Place of Strife report news of the death of our good friend David Richbell, mediator and trainer of mediators.

David’s first career was in the construction world as a Quantity Surveyor when, in the early 1990s, he discovered mediation. He became a mediator and went on to become Director of Training at CEDR before founding his own training organisation, MATA, alongside his mediation practice. As a tutor and mentor, he touched the lives of very many people both here and abroad, some going on to be full time mediators, others simply carrying the skills he taught them back into both their professional and private lives. David was convinced that mediation skills could make the world a better place, that a collaborative approach to problem solving was far far better than confrontation.

David walked the talk: he was a committed Christian who became a lay reader at his church in Olney. A more generous spirit and truer friend would be hard to find. He will be greatly missed. Our sympathies go to his wife, Chris, and their family.

A fuller tribute to David can be found here.