Welcome to Calmer Mediation
Welcome to the website for Calmer Mediation, a mediation practice that aids civil and commercial mediation as well as workplace mediation, based in the West Midlands.
Calmer Mediation offers a person-centred approach to mediation, helping all parties to resolve the situation. Everything remains in confidence. Nothing is shared without everyone’s prior express permission.
Case Study Example
In a complex financial dispute, with a number of jurisdictions involved and a large multicultural group of providers of finance, it appeared that an impasse had been reached. I had listened to and was part of the group of bankers and so was familiar with the arguments. I was invited by one of the stakeholders in the borrowing entity to be an “honest broker” and to try and help them understand the issues that were being raised and to think about what they might be able to do in order to move forwards with the project. Following long days of discussion with this stakeholder and indeed various regulators, it first of all looked as if nothing had changed. But following a period of reflection and activity, suddenly the transaction was transformed and everything was back on track.
Why Mediation?
Imagine the turmoil caused by a contract problem and its effects on a business. Not only are there costs involved but also morale is undermined. Valuable people are affected and cannot devote their creative capabilities to making the business move forward. Misunderstandings escalate into obstacles. Opportunities are lost. There seems no alternative but to seek legal advice and go to court.
In another context, imagine the tensions created in a working environment when good and talented people see their energies sapped by an ongoing disagreement. This spreads to affect others. Over a longer term, the issue corrodes self-esteem and spills over into lives outside of work. Teams break down and harmony becomes discord.
Mediation can resolve these situations: offering early intervention by a neutral party to help everyone explore the issues and consider approaches and resolutions that go beyond the standard legal framework and remedies. Often just expressing perceptions of what has happened with any supporting evidence, taking the time and space for reflection and reappraisal, away from the workplace or legal context, can lead to new insights, resolution and an improved working partnership, resetting relationships.
Costs
Fees are dependent on the complexity of the case and the amount of time involved. As an example, some Fixed Fees for certain Civil Mediation cases can be found here.
“The intent of mediation is to restore harmony and balance to a situation that has got out of control for whatever reason.
It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks, provided all parties feel that they have achieved an outcome that is right for them.
To get there, everyone will have to give something up and compromise.
It is about voicing difficult things and listening to different alternative perceptions.
It’s not a suitable process for people who cannot do this.”
What does Calmer Mediation do?
Calmer Mediation offers the following services:
Diagnostic Discussion
A Diagnostic Discussion with the organisation(s) to assess the possibility of success of a mediation;
Meetings
Joint Discussions
Managing the joint discussions to better understand progress and towards a potential agreement that is satisfactory to all;
Advice
Advice of any support needs;
Follow-up Meeting(s)
Follow-up meeting(s) to assess progress (if appropriate).
The services will differ between contractual mediation, where legal representatives are usually involved and a binding legal agreement is the outcome, and workplace disputes where the mediation is between the people involved.
Calmer Mediation can use a single mediator or use a co-mediation approach with another experienced mediator. The latter approach, increasingly common, can add to the underlying mediation experience and support a resolution that is satisfactory to all. The outcomes are determined by the parties to the dispute. They alone can resolve the issues and look forwards to an improved outcome. Imposed solutions rarely work!
On the Blog
Reflection – The Calmer Mediation Logo
The Calmer Mediation logo includes the reflection of the moon representing the letter C for Calmer and the reflection of the letter M representing Mediation, and the peaks; that parties to mediation will need to scale to overcome the things that divide them and the...
Getting your equilibrium back!
When things start to go wrong and then escalate into a major disagreement, whether it is at home or at work, the effect is both mental and physical. That upset to your day can fester and grow into something that then becomes a major issue. At this point, opposing...
The Cake of Mediation – Who doesn’t like cake?
We talk in business terms of “a piece of cake” meaning something very easy and simple or we can talk about “the icing on the cake” meaning something that makes a situation that is already good, even better. We even talk about the “marzipan layer” as a synonym for...
What to do next
If you think Calmer Mediation can help you, please get in touch. It would help to describe the situation so that a follow up call would be productive. Let me know when you would be available and if you are happy to use an electronic meeting system such as Zoom.