Introduction

The majority of disputes end in settlement or compromise rather than being decided by a court.

Settlement can be achieved by simple negotiation or as a result of mediation or some other form of (alternative) dispute resolution.

The recent Report by the Civil Justice Council concluded that parties can legally be compelled to mediate and in many cases, it is desirable and effective. This is seen by many as the ‘green light’ for an increase in the number of mediations, and a consequent increase in drafting and enforcing of settlement agreements.

This, coupled with the UN Singapore Convention on Mediation, enforced in August 2019, is likely to raise the profile of mediation as a primary dispute resolution tool, rather than it being previously considered as ‘alternative’. The Singapore Convention has been considered by many to be the mediation equivalent of the NY Convention for arbitral awards. Although the UK has not ratified the Singapore Convention yet, it may apply to mediations involving UK businesses in any event as its application does not depend on reciprocity.

The EU Mediation Directive continues to apply to mediations with an EU cross border element. Following Brexit, the EU Mediation Directive no longer applies in the UK.

The aim of this webinar is to update you on the current law and practice regarding drafting valid and effective settlement agreements for use both domestically and internationally.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

The effect of a settlement
Privilege and without prejudice status of negotiations
The different ways of documenting a settlement and ensuring watertight agreements
How to set aside a settlement
The UN Singapore Convention – rules for recognition and enforcement of mediation agreements internationally
Recognising and enforcing mediated settlement agreements in the EU – the EU Mediation Directive
How to enforce a settlement and in what circumstances can a settlement agreement be found to be unenforceable
How can mediation settlement agreements be recognised and enforced within the EU? What is the UK position following Brexit? How would the UK re-joining the Lugano Convention change matters?
Recent case law:
Yukos Hydrocarbons v Gerogiades 2020 – what is the nature of a general release
Integral Petroleum v Petrogat 2020 – what might constitute an abuse of process
Simantob v Shavleyan [2019] – Requirements for valid settlement – what constitutes consideration

This webinar was recorded on 23rd November 2021

Contact Rebecca Attree for a 10% discount on the Smart Plan price. Webinar details can be found here. (link to preview be provided shortly if of interest).

In the autumn of 2022,  Rebecca Attree and fellow IPOS mediators held an event in the Cayman Islands at Cayman International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (CI-MAC).

Against the background of the newly published Cayman Islands Practice Direction on Judicial Mediation, the panel discussed the mediation process answering questions such as:

• Is mediation the answer to dispute resolution?
• Or is it death by compromise?
• What works well and what goes wrong when disputes are mediated?

Please view the recording of the session below, with Charles Gordon, Rebecca Attree and Hetti Jackson-Stops.

Mediation: Golden opportunity or going through the motions?

Free online webinar.

Like many people, the working life of a dispute lawyer has been turned upside down in the last few months. Long-established ways of working have been disrupted, and early indications are that many disputes have gone into hibernation as a consequence. There is a likelihood that it will be a significant period before things can begin to get back to what they were before, and a possibility that things will never be quite the same again. There is a need for clients and their lawyers to be able to move cases forward to conclusion, and opportunities for those that embrace new working methods.

In this practical webinar we will discuss topical issues including the following:

• What are the needs of clients and their lawyers to resolve cases?
• Will the pressure the court system is facing in dealing with cases and the inevitable backlog that will follow change the landscape of dispute resolution?
• Practical insights into mediating remotely: what works well and what are the challenges for parties and their advisers?
• Will we ever really need to meet in person again?
• How do you progress a case to mediation that has gone into hibernation?

There will also be an opportunity to ask experienced mediators questions and to share your thoughts.

Please join us for this topical and practical discussion of key issues for dispute lawyers.

Speakers:

Rebecca Attree: An experienced civil and commercial and workplace mediator and Accredited Online Mediator, recognised as a Leading Mediator in Legal 500 and ranked as a Leading Individual in Chambers & Partners. Rebecca has over 25 years’ experience in giving legal advice to businesses operating internationally and is also a company director herself.

Nick Parker: An experienced civil and commercial mediator, ranked in Chambers & Partners and a commercial dispute resolution partner in a law firm and a Deputy District Judge. Nick is also the a member of the Law Society’s Civil Justice Committee and a member of the Civil Justice Council Judicial Liaison ADR Committee.

Find out more here.

I am holding with Michael Farrier a free webinar on negotiating and decision-making in mediations and the importance of adopting the right approaches to both when you are a party or an adviser to the process. When agreeing to mediate, it is vital to your commitment to compromise and to the prospects of a successful outcome, that you adopt a clear negotiation strategy for the day, so as to know what success for you looks like.  And, by adopting that strategy at mediation, you are then able to focus your attention and efforts on decision-making as the day proceeds. If you do these two things, the mediation day is more likely than not, to be a success for you.  Date: 24/07/2019 Start: 12.00 End: 12.45 Cost: No charge Location: Online I am running this webinar with Michael Farrier, a partner and accredited mediator with Boyes Turner’s Employment Law team and colleague at Hexagon Mediation. If you have any questions about this event, please click here. We look forward to welcoming you.

Register here

Date: 14/11/2018
Start: 11.00
End: 11.45
Cost: No charge
Location: Online

I am pleased to invite you, in conjunction with Boyes Turner’s Employment Law team to join us for a webinar on mediation for the modern workplace and the benefits for your organisation in approaching conflict management differently.

Current grievance and disciplinary management tools may achieve compliance but they are of limited value in achieving the right, balanced and lasting outcomes to unhealthy conflict when it arises. These established procedures are not fit for purpose for the modern workplace, failing to address the real issues at the heart of employee relations conflicts. It is time for change.

In this session Michael Farrier, Partner at Boyes Turner and I will look at an alternative approach to conflict measurement and management which can be of immediate benefit to organisations. Adopting and embedding the principles of mediation into your culture and conflict management processes can provide immediate benefits to your people and culture, as well as achieve considerable costs savings in parallel.

Both Michael and I are CMC Accredited Mediators and Workplace Mediators.

We hope you can join us.

If you have any questions about this event please contact me.

Register here