NEWS & EVENTS

All-Party Parliamentary Group on ADR

By Blog Admin 21 Apr, 2021

Zoom is a video conferencing service that enables mediation to take place despite participants being in different places. The Zoom website is a helpful place to start for getting to know how it works.

This guide provides some specific information on how mediations are conducted over Zoom. Should there be any queries or concerns not covered by this guide then please do not hesitate to ask your mediator who will be familiar with what follows, as well as being fully competent in the use of Zoom.

By Blog Admin 23 Apr, 2020

Disputes are not going away in lockdown and litigation preparation is not suspended. There is every reason to carry on mediating and our mediators are finding that using videoconference facilities, such as Zoom, is different but not necessarily any less effective than traditional face to face events.

In a recent mediation where 7 parties in separate locations were in the same Zoom conference, all the connections were good and stable. The body language of the parties could be read by our mediator and the parties could express their emotions.

In fact there were a number of advantages to remote mediation, which we think will lead parties to continue to use it post lockdown:

* Parties were able to join from their own offices. With effective management of the timetable by our mediator, they were able to get on with their other business in their moments of idleness.

* Zoom's breakout room facilities work just the same way for plenary and caucus sessions as do physical rooms.

* Documents can be shared and discussed on screen, which is easier than everyone physically huddling together round a drawing or other seemingly critical piece of paper. In fact such physical huddles may not be possible in future even after lockdown ends!

* Cost saving: the absence of travel time, accommodation and meeting facility costs as well as increased productivity during downtime means that the process is significantly cheaper for the parties.

* The dispute was complex and took steady effort for two weeks after the main day to get the parties to settlement. Because further meetings could easily be arranged by Zoom the momentum was not lost and the parties eventually reached settlement. The continuance by Zoom felt no different from the original mediation. The sense was that the mediation simply carried on until it reached its successful conclusion and made it more difficult to play the 'walk away' card.

* The necessary individual pre-mediation Zoom test calls provide a great opportunity for preliminary exploration of positions and interests. They also allowed our mediator to do some rigorous litigation risk assessment with each party before the mediation formally started.

* Use of WhatsApp messaging groups meant that parties were kept up to speed throughout about 'where' the mediator was and when they would next be required.

By Chris Reeves 02 Jul, 2018

A practical guide to using mediation to avoid costly and lengthy construction disputes has won the prestigious Innovation Award at the 2018 South West Built Environment Awards.

The free guide was created as a result of bringing together a number of the UK’s leading law firms specialising in construction disputes, including BPL, Trowers & Hamlins, Michelmores and Ashfords.

Working together with Chris Reeves of BPL and founder of M4CI and pooling their construction sector dispute resolution experience, expertise and knowledge on mediation, these firms have co-authored a definitive guide that sets a new standard for how mediation can work.

“This Mediation Guide presents the combined advice and guidance of some of the UK’s leading law firms. It is a fantastic piece of innovation and could help save construction clients, contractors and their supply chain a significant amount of time and money by avoiding litigation and adjudication when it comes to disputes over projects”, said Christopher Reeves, a RICS-accredited mediator, solicitor and chartered builder, founder of Mediation for Construction (mediation4construction.com), and one of the Guide’s authors.

Mediation is a collaborative method of resolving disputes or differences. A key factor in mediation is that the process is entered into voluntarily and both parties agree to work with an independent and experienced mediator, who helps the parties to work out how to resolve the dispute.

Unlike litigation, adjudication and arbitration where a decision is imposed on the parties by the relevant tribunal, mediation firmly puts the decision-making power to resolve the dispute in the hands of the parties involved.

The Guide’s authors believe that mediations are likely to result in a settlement because of the mediation process. It is widely accepted that the success rate is well over 75%.

“We know that around 38 per cent of disputes are between subcontractors and their main contractors, and around 35 per cent are between employers and their main contractors. Taken together, these two categories account for over 70 per cent of all construction related disputes.

“Published research estimates the cost of construction disputes in the UK to be around twenty-six million pounds. That is a huge amount of money going to waste. We believe that mediation is a pathway that construction clients, contractors and their supply chains should sign up to. We hope this Mediation Guide will start conversations that mean less construction disputes end up in court, adjudication or arbitration”, said Alan Tate, Partner, Michelmores.

The Mediation Guide sets out a clear seven-stage process; from referral and agreement to mediate, through to final agreement of issues or a way forward. It allows all parties to preserve on-going working relationships and provides more flexibility than other pathways for dispute resolution, including taking issues to court. Uniquely the Guide contains a “toolbox” of documents that help to get the process underway and offers a model form of settlement agreement.

The Guide’s authors are Christopher Reeves, plus Chris Hoar - partner at Michelmores, Stephen Homer - partner at Ashfords, and Alan Tate - then partner at Trowers & Hamlin (now partner at Michelmores). The Guide has also received support from Bevan Brittan, Blake Morgan, Clarke Willmott, Foot Anstey, Osborne Clarke, Royds Withy King, Stephens Scown and Veale Wasborough Vizards.

The Guide was created following an initial collaboration between Christopher Reeves with Jackie Gregory-Stevens, who is Head of Commercial – Major Projects at Babcock International Group. Jackie shared her own research, including the published paper, “Mediation in construction disputes in England”. The project was then presented to Construction Excellence South West, who agreed to support the Guide.

Constructing Excellence South West supports and encourages the use of mediation as a process of resolving disputes.

The Guide was designed by Philip Jansseune, Creative Director at Walker/Jansseune.

The Mediation Guide can be downloaded here.

By Blog Admin 19 Jun, 2018
Judging for the South West Built Environment Awards has taken place and we were excited to receive the news we are shortlisted for the Innovation Award in connection with the Constructing Excellence South West Mediation Guide and Protocol. The shortlist announcement is here:
By Chris Reeves 27 Jun, 2017
Constructing Excellence South West have circulated news of the new Construction Mediation Guide and Protocol. The press release is here: http://www.constructingexcellencesw.org.uk/assets/newsletter/jul17/story3.htm  where a copy of the Guide can be downloaded
By Chris Reeves 07 Jun, 2017

Constructing Excellence South West, in collaboration with Mediation for Construction (M4C), has identified the need to highlight how mediation can and should be used to resolve disputes and Constructing Excellence South West has given its support and encouragement of the use of mediation as a process of resolving disputes.

To promote the greater use of mediation, a CESW Construction Mediation Guide and Protocol has been prepared by a drafting committee: Alan Tate (Trowers and Hamlins LLP), Chris Hoar (Michelmores LLP), Stephen Homer (Ashfords LLP) and our founder Chris Reeves. The Guide will be launched at the summit on 9 June 2017, details o which can be found here  

By Chris Reeves 06 Jun, 2017

Location:  Reading, Berkshire

Date:  Wednesday 4th July 2017

Event programme:

 09:00  Registration and welcome
 09:30  Speaker – Chris Reeves

  • Overview of mediation compared to other dispute resolution processes
  • The new edition of the Construction and Engineering Pre-Action Protocol
  • What the courts and civil procedure rules are saying about mediation/why mediate
  • Why mediate – the commercial reasons
  • The typical mediation process
 Lunch break
 13:45  Speaker – Elizabeth Repper

  • Practical tips on how to prepare for mediation and how to be a party at a mediation
  • Workshop of construction based scenarios to demonstrate how to approach a mediation
  • Conclusions and summaries
For booking please click here
By Chris Reeves 06 Jun, 2017

Join us for a very informative CPD event covering all the ins and outs of mediation in construction disputes:

What is mediation: an introduction to mediation

Why mediate: the factors as to why one would mediate as well as dispelling some common myths

When to mediate: the factors that affect the timing of when to mediate

Making the most of mediation: tips on how to make the most out of the process

How to encourage parties to mediate

Click here  for full details

Places are limited so booking is essential at: events@m4c.org.uk


By Blog Admin 13 Apr, 2017

Special guest:

Jackie Gregory-Stevens FRICS MCIArb CEnv

Head of Commercial - Major Projects - Babcock International Group

17:30 to 19:30 on 16 May 2017

2hrs CPD

By Joanne Pye 06 Apr, 2017
M4C panel member Elizabeth Repper discusses recent commentary from the Courts on when to mediate and sanctions for not getting on with a proposal to mediate. A link to Elizabeth’s article can be found here:

http://constructionblog.practicallaw.com/mediation-update-the-question-of-when-and-costs-sanction-fo...
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