Hilda Ephraim-Adejumo's Dispute Solutions Mediation Services - is a "Direct Access Practice" in conflict resolutions to individuals, companies, families, neighbours, organisations, small businesses, employers, employees, churches and mosques across cultures, beliefs, religion, race, colour and age through Mediation and other alternative dispute resolutions.
Hilda is an experienced Barrister as well as a Senior Civil & Commercial Mediator, and frequently sits at the Central London County Court. She has a practice at 12 Old Square Chambers at 12 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, London.
In our daily lives, it is imperative that we must interact with people at different levels and background. In an ideal world, we would enjoy these different interactions whether at a personal level, at work, business and social levels and the world would be a happy place to live in. Sadly this is not always the case. So sometimes we find that something happens (knowingly or unknowingly), we are caught up in some dispute or conflict we never thought we would be involved in. But it happens! Some people may choose to resolve such issues through dialogues; some may choose to go to court through litigation ("to have their day in court"). Litigation may offer you your "day in court" but at what costs?
It is therefore reasonable to consider alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) to litigation such as, Mediation |
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Mediation is an informal process by which a trained, neutral facilitator or Mediator will assist the parties to a dispute to resolve their dispute without losing face. The process involves a good mediator listening attentively to the parties and working hard with each side to understand their own and the other party's position in the matter and can explore alternative solutions. This encourages the parties to work to improve their chances in finding a solution which is mutually accepted.
There are various benefits:
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- solves your problem faster - can be arranged quickly and at a short notice;
- takes place in private - at a place of your choice mutually acceptable;
- confidential - the mediator will treat one-to-one discussion as confidential;
- control - the parties retain control over their dispute;
- flexibility - the process is purely voluntary and consensual; there is no obligation to agree to anything you are not entirely happy with; parties attend because they want to;
- less stressful - parties are encouraged to be civil and courteous to each other and confrontation is kept to a minimum; it is possible to re-establish a positive relation between the parties even after the dispute is resolved unlike after litigation;
- practical solutions - the mediator can suggest practical solutions which a judge or arbitrator could not;
- costing you less - in comparison to litigation or arbitration, the cost is greatly reduced;
- focus - the mediation can help the parties to focus on the issues that are causing the problem, making it easier for them to reach an agreement;
- court delays are avoided - prolonged litigation can become an obsession and dominate one's life; Hilda Ephraim-Adejumo of Dispute Solutions Mediation Services ensures that energies and finances can be turned to better things.
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There is no compulsion to use mediation. The mediator will endeavour to persuade the party to agree to mediation by drawing attention to the advantages of trying to reach a settlement by mediation. However if the dispute reaches trial and a party had refused mediation , the court may punish that party in the costs order it makes at the end of the case. Such punishment may be imposed even on the party who wins in court.
99% of disputes can be mediated. Disputes come in many shapes and sizes. They are as infinite as human relationships: property, employment, neighbours, contracts, marriage, company, commercial - are forms of human activity which so often produce conflicts and so often require mediation.
It is said that over 80% of mediation are successful. Virtually, no litigant could claim that they have more than an 80% prospect of success at a trial. On this ground alone, everyone locked into dispute should try mediation before litigation.
The mediator always has an overriding aim - to reach a settlement by the end of the day though there can be no guarantee that agreement will be reached. The mediator is there to help the parties to find a solution to their problem and develop their own agreement.
