In Person and Online Mediation

In Person Dispute Resolution

Richard has been sitting as a mediator in person with all parties present in person and resolving disputes for many years and he continues to do so. Some parties and their lawyers prefer in person mediation hearings while others favour online mediation.  Richard is very familiar and equally at home with both formats.

Online Dispute Resolution

Online Dispute Resolution (‘ODR’) has been a recognised and established form of mediation for many years and Richard has been mediating disputes online over several years. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly increased interest in and the attractions of ODR.  

Richard has mediated many substantial commercial disputes online and is familiar with all the major online platforms including Teams, Skype, Zoom and Webex. While he also remains active in the in-person mediation space, his online mediation practice continues to grow.

His recent online mediations have included:

  • A US $145m international insurance coverage dispute involving parties in London, Bermuda and the US
  • A major international trade dispute involving parties in London, Canada and the US
  • A large international trust and inheritance dispute with parties based in the BVI, Switzerland, and London.

Richard has also mediated a number of domestic mediations online this year including:

  • Art and Cultural property
  • Landlord and tenant
  • Insolvency
  • Contentions probate
  • Trusts and financial services

Richard has an outstanding success rate in both ODR and in-person mediations. Most mediation skills are transferrable between ODR and conventional mediation but effective and successful online mediation requires a mediator with the requisite experience of resolving large and complex disputes online.  

Richard expects ODR to continue to grow as a proportion of the ADR market, not least because it offers a highly attractive value proposition for clients, materially reducing costs and time, especially by eradicating significant travel costs. To read more about ODR, see a short article Richard has written here.