Commercial mediation is a flexible, voluntary and confidential form of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party assists parties to work towards a negotiated settlement of their dispute.
The parties retain control of the decision whether or not to settle and on what terms. Unlike a judge or court, the mediator will not decide the case on its merits, but will work to facilitate agreement between the parties. It is the parties’ opinions, not the mediators, which matter.
Commercial mediation can be used in almost any kind of case, for example:
- Commercial contract
- Computer/IT
- Professional negligence
- Property disputes
- Construction
- Consumer/fair trading
- Insurance
- Personal injury
- Planning (and other disputes with government departments)
- Inheritance/probate disputes.
How it works
Parties normally agree to mediate for 3 hours at a fixed fee, or for an unspecified period of time which typically runs for 1 or 2 days at most.
Most mediations take place at our offices in Chelmsford in Essex with the parties, and potentially their advisors, in attendance.
Our mediator may look to resolve the dispute by a degree of shuttle diplomacy – seating the parties in separate rooms then visiting each room in turn, “separating the people from the problem”. Crucially, the mediator is completely independent, and experienced in bridging differences.
You are in control of the dispute at each stage; the mediator is there to help you negotiate your own settlement.
We’d be very happy to come
and talk to you without obligation
At Leonard Gray Mediation, our job is to make employment or commercial disputes easier and less expensive to resolve.
We can help you establish very quickly whether mediation is suitable for your organisation. If you’d like to arrange a meeting then please call 01245 264 764 and ask for John Appleby.
Alternatively you can drop us an email at mediation@leonardgray.co.uk