Your Mediation Process
Begins Here
Hello
My name is Ben Dures
I am a qualified solicitor and mediator, with over 25 years of experience in dispute resolution. I offer face-to-face civil mediation in Norfolk, or virtual mediation, nationally. I trained with and am a member of the Society of Mediators. Do not hesitate to contact me for your FREE first consultation.
Civil Law Mediation
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a way of trying to settle cases without going to court. Although the mediator’s role is not to force a settlement or judge the case, around 86% of mediations result in an agreement. Mediating a dispute can avoid months or years of stress and expense, and puts you in control. You decide whether or not to settle and what terms you would be happy with.
You also don't have to see the other party - you can each be in your own room, physical or virtual, with the mediator moving between rooms.
The whole process is entirely confidential, and the mediator will not pass any information to the other party unless given permission. Anything discussed in the mediation cannot be referred to in court unless both parties agree. Increasingly, courts expect people who go to court to have tried mediation first and can penalise parties who refuse to mediate.
A mediator does not give legal advice and has to stay impartial throughout. We find that mediations are more likely to succeed if parties have had some legal advice beforehand, but there is no obligation.
Civil Law Mediation
Civil law mediation covers most types of disputes but does not include family or employment cases.
What sort of things can be mediated?
This is not an exhaustive list but gives you some idea of what I can mediate on:
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Medical negligence cases
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Personal injury cases
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Disputes about inheritance.
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Contract disputes
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Consumer issues
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Neighbour disputes
Types Of Mediation
Face-to-Face Mediation
In practice, face-to-face usually means 'shuttle mediation' in which the participants are in separate rooms and the mediator goes back and forth between them. The parties can choose to be in the same room for some or all of the time if they wish, but there’s no obligation.
Virtual Mediation
If virtual, the participants would normally be placed in separate virtual rooms.
You can bring someone with you to the mediation to support you.
Articles
“You might not always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you find, you get what you need.”
Mick Jagger
