Civil & Commercial Mediation

Leicester’s Top Commercial Mediator

I am an experienced commercial disputes mediator in Leicester. This means I also help parties involved in legal disputes to settle their matters in mediation. I am usually instructed by other solicitors to help their clients to mediate disputes.

Your clients want a mediator who:

• is calm, but not too namby pamby
• is friendly, but gets the job done
• knows their stuff, but let’s the parties have their day.

That’s me, Steven Mather, The Right Mediator for You.

What is mediation?

Mediation is a way in which parties to a legal dispute can try to settle their dispute before Court. As a mediator, my role is to be a neutral but effective facilitator, to open up the channels of communications, to be a go-between the parties, ultimately with a joint aim of the parties reaching an amicable compromise.

A mediation, or a mediation settlement conference, is a meeting with the parties present (and lawyers) and the mediator. They can last 1/2 a day or a full day (or more if needed).

Although most of my mediations are in Leicestershire and the Midlands, I am happy to travel to most parts of the UK to mediate disputes.

I’ll be honest – I love mediating disputes. Its always been a passion of mine to get results for clients – and being able to do it for other parties to litigation is really rewarding. I will absolutely try my best, using all the tricks in the book, to get the parties to reach a settlement. Ultimately, it is the parties day and I cannot impose any decision and I’m not there to be a Judge, but I will try.

In short, mediation is:

• a confidential out of court process
• cheaper than going to court
• quicker than going to court
• less stressful than going to court
• able to create settlements which a Court cannot.

Why use Steven Mather as your Mediator?

There’s a lot of choice when it comes to mediators. As a lawyer, we tend to select mediators like we would expert witnesses. Your lawyer will probably do the same. I set out below all of the types of legal disputes I have mediated previously, but you can rest assured that as a commercial litigation solicitor since 2008, I have been involved in thousands of disputes and have a very broad range of experience.

But in my view, picking a mediator is not so much about my knowledge but about my skills and personality. I say this because as a mediator I’m not there for my opinion on the case at hand, I’m there to facilitate the discussions. What you need is a mediator that will help get the deal done.

My mediation practice is based on being neutral, but where needed I will use my experience and knowledge to challenge positions, including legal positions, and really test the water – is your case as strong as you think it is? This is all done, where appropriate, to get parties to move from entrenched positions. I’d like to think I’m pretty good at it. I learned my mediation skills at the London School of Psychotherapy at Regents College in London. Prior to that, I had studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology of disputes. I use these skills to really help the parties explore their positions, their why for the case, the drivers, the parties needs and interests, and get resolutions quickly and effectively. You won’t know I’m doing this, and don’t be put off with the big words here – it is simply how I am and how I effectively deal with the dispute and parties.

In fact my preference is to have a mediation set down for 3 or 4 hours max, as I believe that most typical mediations drag on and they only get good towards the end of the day. So I bring the end of the day forward in the hope that we can get the deal done!

If you’re not sure about which mediator to choose for your case, then feel free to pick the phone up and give me a call. Really, you want a mediator who you feel comfortable with. I try to bring my sense of humour to the table (as and when appropriate) as I find it helps breaks the ice. I will use all the tricks in the book I can to get the deal done. If that’s what you need, then get in touch.

What disputes can I mediate?

I have been involved in probably thousands of disputes as a solicitor and have mediated a wide range of disputes. I cannot at present say I have mediated hundreds of matters, as until 2020, I focused my attention on my solicitor career. I have however done a handful of mediations every year since I qualified as a mediator in 2011.

• Contested/Contentious Probate / Inheritance disputes
• Contract disputes
• Professional Negligence
• Costs
• Negligence/Tort
• Shareholder disputes
• Partnership disputes
• Intellectual Property disputes

There’s probably not a circumstance of a dispute that I haven’t come across, so rather than create a massive long list here, let’s just say I can almost certainly help – but just ask me if you’re not sure.

Alternatively, you can download my Mediation CV here.

What are my mediation fees?

As most of my mediations are in Leicester or the Midlands, I’m able to keep the costs reasonable and straight forward. The following costs are payable by each party and are exclusive of VAT. The fees include local travel and reasonable preparation before the mediation and are subject to my standard Mediation Agreement.

1/2 Day Mediation – £625 plus VAT per party

Full Day Mediation – £1250 plus VAT

Additional hours charged at £150 plus VAT per party.

Next Steps

If you’re unsure on the question of fees, or on any aspect of mediation advice for employees then speak to our solicitor Steven Mather.

Just fill in the form on the side of this page, or give us a call to discuss further.