On 25th January 2021, HHJ Philip Kramer (specialist civil judge in the Business and Property Courts of Newcastle upon Tyne (BPC)) hosted the 12th Business and Property Court Forum event via Zoom. Such events have become a regular feature of North East business and legal community since its launch in June 2018. Customarily they are held as in-person events with an opportunity for networking followed by a topical presentation on a range of legal subjects which are a feature of the business conducted in the BPC.

Since the COVID-19  pandemic, we have successfully transitioned the events online which have allowed the continuous programme to run and have actually engaged with a much wider audience in higher numbers and beyond legal professionals across more industries and sectors so that it can genuinely be said that the forum has fulfilled its vision of appealing to businesses as well.

The focus of the evening was online mediation and three speakers delivered presentations.

In his session, Andrew Entwistle from George F. White highlighted the key reasons for engaging with experts in online mediations and outlined the benefits that experts can bring to help create successful outcomes for the parties to mediations.

Andrew Cawkwell from Manolete Partners PLC provided a negotiator’s perspective in connection with online mediation including practical experience derived from many online mediations that the insolvency litigation third-party funder has carried out since March 2020. The talk focussed on key tips to be successful in online mediation such as advanced preparation and considering the pros and cons of the same as well as things to remember both in advance of and on the day of the mediation itself.

Rob Langley provided the Mediator’s perspective. His illuminating presentation provided the audience with some very practical guidance on online mediation. He stressed the importance of meetings online with the Mediator beforehand, to test that the technology was working, to build the relationship with the Mediator, and to “acclimatise” to the online format.

The speakers’ presentations can be found by clicking here.

The session concluded with the speakers providing answers to a number of questions posed by our live audience. Such was the interest level in the topic of online mediation that 235 delegates had signed up before the event. A really insightful poll was launched to our audience towards the end of the event and the following results were delivered in real-time which indicated that 93% would consider online mediation after lockdown. The poll result highlighting the importance of online mediation as a format to resolve legal disputes and underpinning that it is a form of ADR which is very much here to stay.

If you would like more information on how we can help with dispute resolution or mediation call 0333 920 2220.