Mediation and Housing - What you need to know

The Government is moving forward with plans to increase the role of mediation in housing. This webinar is aimed at housing practitioners seeking to understand more about mediation and will cover:

• What does mediation involve?
• How do you prepare for a mediation?
• How are mediations funded?
• Can mediation be beneficial?
• Mediation and the possession claims pilot - what is going on?

The answers to these and your other questions at this critical time will be given by an expert panel including practising mediators, barristers and a solicitor with experience in dealing with mediations.
 

Recording

Speakers

Helen Curtis, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Helen is a trained, accredited mediator with ‘excellent interpersonal skills’ and an ability to ‘keep the focus on coming to an agreement’.  Helen’s experience is in mediating disputes where there is a high degree of strong emotion, sensitivity or parties are seemingly entrenched. Helen’s constructive approach acknowledges the parties’ needs early on and she is calm and relaxed from the first point of contact which is prior to the mediation. Helen helps parties reach a resolution in cases that are commercially sensitive, complex and where disputes have been ongoing for years. She brings skills required in litigation namely energy, insight and stamina to effective use in the mediation process. 

David Watkinson, Garden Court Chambers
While a practising barrister for 40 years (1973 – 2012), David successfully carried out negotiations on behalf of his clients as a regular part of his practice as a civil litigator mostly in housing and planning law. During his practice he represented clients in courts at all levels from magistrates court to the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. The cases included civil claims (including judicial review) arising from land and housing issues such as possession, homelessness, breach of contract, disrepair, unlawful eviction and adverse possession and also equality and discrimination issues related to housing as well as prosecutions for housing offences on behalf of both local authorities and individual clients. Since qualifying as a mediator, David has adapted his advocacy skills to the task of assisting the parties in dispute to discover themselves the solution acceptable to them. He has both represented clients at a mediation as well as mediating other disputes.

Marina Sergides, Garden Court Chambers
Marina is a barrister and CEDR accredited mediator with 18 years of wide-ranging civil and public law expertise. Marina specialises in all aspects of social housing law. In her legal practice, Marina is adept at dealing with negotiations in, but not limited to, disputes arising in housing, homelessness, disrepair, possession, community care, public law and civil actions. She has extensive experience in nuisance possession proceedings, s204 homelessness appeals, unlawful eviction and harassment claims, disrepair claims, judicial reviews, human rights, public law defences, disability discrimination and crossover ASBO proceedings in the magistrates and county courts. In particular, Marina works in cases involving tenants with mental health problems, where capacity has been in issue, and where the Official Solicitor has been instructed. Marina has represented tenants before the Social Security Tribunal and before the Social Security Commissioner.