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Freeths - Law firm

Mediation

Resolving Your Dispute

What is involved?

No one wants to be in a commercial dispute – they are both time-consuming and costly. Increasingly, mediation is the preferred way to resolve commercial disputes rapidly and effectively, without the need to go to court.

We understand that it takes different skills to prepare for mediation than it does to prepare for trial. We ensure that we always agree with you the best settlement strategy before the mediation.

Mediation is appropriate across the full range of commercial disputes from contractual and negligence claims to shareholder disputes and inheritance claims.

The team are active members of the Association of Midlands Mediators (AMM). Mark Keeley is a long standing member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate specialists and now sits on their organising committee, and is also the Secretary of the AMM.

Why choose Freeths?

  • You can rely on us to be approachable, friendly and calm when working with all parties involved
  • Our firm are committed to using mediation whenever possible, to avoid the need for costly litigation
  • Our dispute resolution lawyers are all experienced in mediation
  • Mark Keeley is a busy commercial mediator who understand what it takes to achieve a sensible commercial outcome to your dispute by making the most of the opportunity mediation presents for early dispute resolution

Call us now to see how our mediation team can help resolve your dispute.

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Key contacts

Mark Keeley

Mark Keeley
Partner & Joint Head of Private Client Services

0345 274 6875

Alternatively complete the form below:

Contact Us

Meet the team

Mediation Lawyers


Mark Keeley

Mark Keeley
National Head

0345 274 6875

Philippa Dempster

Philippa Dempster
Managing Partner

0207 440 5841

Simon Hobbs

Simon Hobbs
Partner

0190 835 0200

David Marsden

David Marsden
Partner

0345 404 1757

Louise Wilson
Partner

0345 073 8583

Ciaran Dearden
Director

0114 263 9438

Paul Balen

Paul Balen
Consultant

0345 050 3289

Raymond Joyce

Raymond Joyce
Consultant

0345 634 2578

Sajjid Kurmani
Managing Associate

0345 166 6312

Michael Miller
Managing Associate

0345 073 8552

Sadiea Mustafa-Awan
Senior Associate

0345 030 5658

Amy Platt
Associate

0345 166 6267

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Testimonials

"Mark Keeley brings his "knowledge and practical experience" as a litigator to his mediation practice, which centres on contentious trust and probate disputes as well as professional negligence claims. Market sources say he "has a good manner, bonds with clients and makes sensible and constructive decisions."

(Chambers & Partners, 2017)

"Charles was very user friendly and established a good rapport with the clients and the representatives for both sides. His comments were helpful and his insight was useful in facilitating a settlement."

"Mark was a very accomplished Mediator. He showed a remarkable grasp of the case, with great attention to detail. His manner with the client was excellent. He provided a calm, reassuring and focused approach to the whole day. We are most grateful to Mark for his assistance in bringing this longstanding and troublesome matter to a satisfactory conclusion."

"A quick note to say many thanks for your unfailing good humour on what was a difficult day. I was impressed by how calm you kept. I hope to work with you in the future (should the need arise) and would have no hesitation in recommending your approach in mediation situations."

"The ‘patient, persistent and unfailingly courteous’ Mark Keeley is a ‘top-class practitioner in the field’, who ‘sees every angle of the dispute’; he is assisting several charities with proceedings involving misconduct allegations against a solicitor with a lasting power of attorney, and managing a deadlocked unadministered estate."

(The Legal 500, 2017)

"Again excellent. Charles has the right manner and approach in the most difficult of disputes to try to find both common ground and a settlement."

"The proof is in the pudding and we got a sensible deal from a case made the more difficult by lots of parties with differing opinions on settlement. Everything was explained clearly to the clients. I particularly liked the encouragement to put forward an 'interesting' offer."

"Charles Powell has a strong mediation practice which centres on partnership, professional negligence, banking and other commercial claims. One market source states: 'He is very professional, approachable and personable. He is hands-on and pushes in the right direction.' He is often instructed on particularly contentious matters where relations between parties are acrimonious."

(Chambers & Partners, 2017)

"Mark Keeley at Freeths LLP is ‘extremely practical, has in-depth knowledge of this field and goes the extra mile’. Keeley conducted 34 commercial mediations in 2016, and specialises in contentious trust and probate disputes, and professional negligence claims."

(The Legal 500, 2017)

Notable Work
  • Breach of fiduciary duty against D1 and debt claim against D2 together with a Petition for relief under s.994 of the Companies Act 2006. Charles Powell acted as the mediator and successfully resolved the dispute at mediation.
  • Dispute relating to the purchase of a hotel and the accountant’s business plan at the time the hotel was acquired. The Claimant’s case was that the market value at the time of the acquisition did not reflect the actual business operation which the Claimant claimed was far less than the price paid for it. Charles Powell assisted in bringing this case to a conclusion following the mediation.
  • Solicitor’s professional negligence claim in relation to their handling of a personal injury RTA. Charles Powell acted as the mediator and successfully resolved the dispute at mediation.
  • Claim under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 and a counterclaim for losses suffered as a result of the Claimants’ alleged repudiatory breach of contract. Charles Powell brought this difficult case to a conclusion at the mediation.
  • Long-running dispute over the estate of a wealthy businessman. He was survived by his wife and four children. One child was excluded from benefit under his will and she brought a claim against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Mark Keeley acted as mediator and was able to resolve this dispute at mediation.
  • Probate dispute and claim to set aside the gift of shares held by the deceased in a family company. The dispute concerned a dispute over the gift of shares in a family company valued at circa £1million. This was a family dispute that had been running for many years and which was causing considerable upset within the family. Mark Keeley acted as the mediator and successfully resolved the dispute at mediation.
  • Multi-party probate dispute involving three separate claims in proprietary estoppel and under the Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, the dispute had been running for over three years, the mediation involved four parties and ran over two days. All disputes were successfully resolved.

Client service

‘Doing the right thing’ is at the heart of Freeths. Find out more about our excellent client service and the strong set of values that guide the way we work.

Our values

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Talk to us

Freeths are a leading national law firm with 13 offices across the UK. If you have a query about our services or just want to find out more, why not give us a call?

Contact: 03301 001 014

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