Sir David Foskett, Chair, Civil Mediation Council

10.00 - Mediation Awareness

Sir David Foskett sat as a High Court judge from 2007, presiding over several high-profile cases and dealing with a wide spectrum of disputes.  He acted as a mediator before his appointment as a judge and was an active supporter of mediation during his judicial career. He is the author of Foskett on Compromise, first published in 1980.

Since his retirement from the judiciary in 2019, Sir David has returned to his role as dispute resolution practitioner, practising out of 39 Essex Chambers.

He joined the Civil Mediation Council as its new chair in June 2019.

Sir David will outline the CMC’s plans for encouraging and supporting the development of the mediation profession, including its collaborative approach in the promotion of Mediation Awareness.

Rebecca Attree, Partner, Hexagon Mediation

10.15 - Thoughts and feelings - how do they affect decisions?

Rebecca Attree practised as a city lawyer for over 15 years before training as a mediator in 2009.  She joined Bromley Community Mediation Service in 2010 and was an active lead community mediator until 2015.

She now practises as a civil and commercial and workplace mediator and is ranked as a Leading mediator in Legal 500 UK and as a Leading Individual in Chambers & Partners Mediator rankings. She carries out civil and commercial mediation through her mediation practice, Attree & Co, and she is also a founder and director of Hexagon Mediation, which specialises in workplace mediation.

In addition to mediating commercial and workplace disputes, she is experienced in dealing with issues related to property, family business and probate.  These include multi-party disputes involving businesses and individuals based in different jurisdictions. Fluent in Italian, she mediates in the UK, the US, and online, and has considerable experience of international disputes.

Her experience as a cross-sector mediator has led to a particular interest in how psychological factors influence people’s approach to conflict and decision-making.

Rebecca will explore how people reach decisions at mediations, and how mediators can help them in this process.

James South, Managing Director, CEDR 

10.50 - What's in a relationship?

James South is the Managing Director of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).  As a mediator, facilitator, consultant and trainer, he has more than 25 years of experience in over 40 countries, working with individuals, organisations and public institutions to prevent, manage and resolve conflict effectively.

A lawyer in his native New Zealand, he acts as mediator both in the UK and internationally, He specialises in corporate and commercial disputes and has extensive experience in international commercial contracts, insurance and finance, property, sales of goods and services, and conflicts associated with employment and workplace.  He also combines his mediating and consultancy skills to provide facilitation, neutral chairing and conflict coaching services to boards, leadership teams and other groups which find themselves in conflict.

He is fluent in Spanish and has experience in mediating cross-border and cross-cultural disputes, recently mediating cases with Spanish and Austrian parties.

He holds a master’s degree in law (distinction) in Dispute Prevention and Resolution from University of Westminster.  He was formerly on the board of the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) and currently sits on the board of the International Mediation Institute (IMI).

James will explore the misconception that commercial mediation is only about money.  He will explain the importance of relationship in commercial mediation and the relevance of certain techniques that might be familiar to community mediators.

David Walker MBE, Director of Mediation,

Southwark Mediation Centre

15.35 - The Community Mediator

David Walker has more than 30 years of experience as a community mediator, and has been awarded an MBE for his work in this area.

He mediates community disputes and conflicts of every kind, but has specialist experience in dealing with anti-social behaviour and issues involving harassment and hate crime.  He has also mediated in situations involving individuals and groups affected by gang-related conflicts, including incidents involving shootings, stabbings and homicide.

He is the principal Director of Mediation at Southwark Mediation Centre, which has been in operation since 1986, and supports its team of volunteer and professional mediators, as well as the peer mediation group at Bacon’s College. But, he prefers to regard himself as a mediation practitioner rather than an administrator, and maintains an active community mediation case-load.

He has delivered mediation training at universities, colleges and organisations with responsibility for community welfare and safety, both in the UK and overseas.

David will talk about how skills and experience gained as a community mediator can cross over successfully into other mediation sectors.

Stephen Walker, Mediator, Author, Trainer

16.10 - The LMD Debate

Stephen Walker is a civil and commercial mediator and is ranked among the top 40 UK mediators by both Chambers and The Legal 500.

He has a 360-degree view of mediation, having been a mediator; mediation advocate, and a client.   He knows from personal experience that the mediation process looks very different, according to which chair you are sitting in.

Stephen is on the IMI panel of international commercial mediators and is accredited in both the UK and the USA, He has undertaken specialist training in workplace, family and online mediation and lectures on mediation at King's College, London.

He is interested in the development of new ways of providing mediation and regularly uses online dispute resolution for domestic and international mediations. He also offers mediators' binding resolutions, mediation/arbitration, and last-offer arbitration (MEDALOA).

He has published five books on how to get the best out of mediation: Mediation Advocacy: Representing and Advising Clients at Mediation; Advising and Representing Clients at Mediation (with David Smith); Setting Up in Business as a Mediator; Mediation: An A-Z Guide and FAQ's for Mediators

Stephen will act as official referee for the LMD-2019 debate on the proposition:  The competent mediator can mediate anything