What does it take to become a mediator?
By Mr Bankruptcy
17th January 2024
Mediation can be a quicker, cheaper and less confrontational way of resolving a debt issue than taking the path to litigation. But who are you trusting with your future when you agree to let a mediator help find an equitable resolution to your financial problem?
What is mediation?
Mediation is a way of resolving disputes through the intervention of a neutral party who facilitates discussion and negotiation between the parties in a dispute to help them find a peaceful settlement or compromise. Both sides must agree to take part and be willing to compromise and work towards a binding resolution.
Mediation can be used in many disputatious situations, including relationship breakdowns, neighbours arguing over a boundary, commercial disputes, industrial disputes or even between two nations in armed conflict. It can also be a useful tool for finding a way out of a debt situation for both the debtor and creditor.
The neutral party is the mediator, an independent and impartial person who negotiates with all the conflicting parties to bring them to a mutually acceptable agreement.
Some skills required to be an effective mediator
Establishing the trust of both sides in a dispute is key, so the first quality that an effective mediator needs is the ability to stay calm and impartial in an argument, avoiding becoming sucked in and finding a workable solution acceptable to all.
Communication skills, combined with active listening and analytical questioning, enables an effective mediator to identify, understand and express the core issues to both sides in a clear way that avoids emotional argument. This logical approach can seem a little disconnected and “Mr Spock-ish” but a good mediator is also emotionally literate and patient, appreciating the emotional drivers underlying a dispute, while at the same time remaining objective while they negotiate with all sides.
Through their expertise, training and soft skills, an effective mediator establishes their leadership credentials allowing them to guide parties to a successful resolution.
That isn’t to say that anyone with a good set of interpersonal skills can set up as a mediator. In the UK, charities such as the Society of Mediators, or accreditation bodies such as the Civil Mediation Council, provide quality control over practitioners, most of whom will also have completed accredited training.
Experience doesn’t hurt either…
Alongside qualifications, extensive work experience is a must for the most effective mediators. At James Rosa Associates, Julian Donnelly provides Civil and Commercial mediation, specialising in debt, insolvency, banking and finance as well as being a debt counsellor and debt adjustor.
With a long history of working in the financial sector, Julian spent nine years at a major high street bank before moving d to gain a wide variety of corporate experience in different sectors, before founding James Rosa Associates in 2009.
Before he gained his mediation accreditation, Julian worked extensively in negotiating settlements on behalf of clients with their creditors, including bank debt, trade creditors, HMRC, and work with directors’ personal guarantees, as well as formal insolvency processes.
He also has an impressive array of professional qualifications including: Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (ACIArb); Member of R3 the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (MABRP); Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (FCICM); and Member of the Society of Mediators (MSoM).
As a company owner/director, Julian is very aware of how businesses operate and the day-to-day challenges they face. He also has personal experience of debt and has also seen what happens when a settlement can’t be reached, which is why he goes the extra mile to help clients come to the solution they need.
James Rosa Associates
James Rosa associates is a firm of debt advisors and debt adjustors offering a full range of advice and professional services, including:
Julian is known for his relaxed and non-judgemental approach, putting individuals and business owners/directors who face unmanageable debt at their ease. His extensive negotiation experience helps him to look objectively at opposing viewpoints and quickly get to the root cause of a dispute. His personal experience of debt gives him an empathy which allows him to listen and communicate effectively with all manner of clients and their representatives while maintaining professional neutrality at all times.
At James Rosa Associates we offer mediation services in:
- Insolvency
- Consumer Credit Banking and finance
- Company and shareholder disputes
- Partnership disputes
- Commercial contracts
We are also authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN665061) to work with clients to produce bespoke solutions to fit their specific circumstances.
Are you entitled to a free consultation?
If you need to deal with unmanageable debt, or want to bring a dispute to a satisfactory resolution, then contact James Rosa Associates, ring 0845 6807217 or email us at enquiries@jamesrosa.co.uk to find out whether you qualify for one of our free consultations.
Please be advised that all views expressed in these posts are those of the author and not of James Rosa Associates ltd.