Case studies

Commercial Intellectual Property Dispute

This mediation saw two companies engage in mediation after 12 difficult months of correspondence between solicitors. They had each incurred legal fees of approximately £18,000.00 and the dispute had reached a point where court proceedings were about to begin. This means they probably faed another 10 months of legal fees and stress before the dispute got to court.

They had never met or spoken with one another prior to the mediation. At first the solicitor for one party did not want to take part in the opening joint session. Fortunately it did go ahead and some lighthearted conversation took place regarding cycling. This innocuous conversation saw a common interest acknowledged by the two parties.

During the course of the morning the parties were separated into their private rooms and we shuttled between them. The negotiations were slowing until the parties suggested that they speak to one another in our presence and without their own solicitors in the room.

Over the course of the next 20 minutes not only did they reach an agreement which allowed them to put the whole dispute behind them, but they also realised that there was potential to work together going forwards. Last time we saw them they were going to a pub together to discuss potential opportunities.

Workplace Dispute

This mediation involved an employee accused of theft by the employer. The employee suffered from physical and psychological illness during their employment. The workplace dispute put so much stress on the employee that they had been absent from work for several months. The dispute was debilitating for the employee’s health, and equally damaging to the health of the employer business as it was taking up a lot of resources.

The parties had not spoken for several months, and for the entire mediation the employee felt unable to be in the same room as the employer representatives or even risk seeing them in communal areas.

We shuttled between the parties in their private rooms, and also held some joint meetings between the employer and the employee representative. After several hours a solution was reached and, in a big moment for the employee, everybody came together so that apologies (and hugs) could be exchanged.
The mediation process resolved the problem in just one day, and allowed everybody to move on with their lives.

Tenancy Deposit Dispute

This mediation took place via telephone as the parties lived in different cities in the UK. Each party had a different view regarding the condition of the property both at the beginning of the tenancy and the end of it. Within just one hour, we were able to bring the parties to a solution which left both satisfied, and allowed them to put the whole episode behind them.