When the relationship between your project and the communities around it has to be built, repaired or held

Mediation works when all parties participate voluntarily, when the people at the table can make binding commitments, when power imbalances can be handled procedurally, when the interests are worth exploring, and when resolution genuinely beats continued conflict for everyone.

It is the wrong instrument when violence or intimidation makes safe participation impossible, when a party lacks the capacity or authority to negotiate, when the matter is criminal and belongs with law enforcement, when fundamental rights violations require a regulator or a court, or when one side sees clear advantage in staying adversarial and will not engage in good faith.

I assess this during the initial consultation, before recommending anything. Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not need me.

It depends on complexity, expected duration and logistics. After the initial consultation I send a proposal with a fee structure: a fixed fee for simple and predictable mediations, daily or hourly rates for complex ones, a retainer for multi-session mandates.

Costs are usually shared between parties unless one side agrees to carry them. In every case I have worked on, mediation has cost a fraction of litigation, before counting the indirect cost of delay and reputational damage.

The initial consultation is free, so you can assess fit before committing to anything.

A simple dispute runs 4 to 8 weeks from first contact to agreement. Moderate complexity is 2 to 4 months. A complex multi-party conflict takes 6 to 12 months, sometimes longer.

Even the long ones resolve faster than litigation, and the pace follows what the parties can sustain rather than a court calendar.

Not on outcome. I do not advocate for anyone’s position and I do not rule on who is right.

I am not neutral about process. I make sure everyone can participate meaningfully, I address the power imbalances that would otherwise make dialogue meaningless, I reality-test proposals against operational constraints, and I will not facilitate an agreement I believe a party cannot or will not implement.

Yes, within boundaries set out in the process agreement. Discussions cannot be used in later litigation, I cannot be called as a witness, and what is said in a private caucus stays there unless that party authorises disclosure. Final agreements are usually not confidential, because they are implemented in public.

Confidentiality has limits. It does not cover imminent harm, illegal activity, or matters the parties agree should be disclosed. Those limits are stated clearly before anything begins.

Yes. A mediated agreement is a binding contract. A well-drafted one carries specific measurable commitments, implementation timelines, monitoring and reporting, a procedure for interpretation questions, a dispute process for future disagreements, and remedies for non-compliance.

Some parties register the agreement as a consent order with a court or regulator for extra enforcement. Most are honoured voluntarily, because the parties built them rather than having a settlement imposed.

Not every mediation ends in a full settlement, and that is a legitimate outcome. Parties usually leave understanding each other more accurately, some issues get resolved even when the whole does not, positions move, and everyone knows a serious collaborative attempt was made.

Nobody waives anything by participating. All legal and regulatory options remain exactly where they were.