Anthony Glaister has been involved in resolving disputes since qualifying as a solicitor in 1980. Initial experience in litigation and international arbitration left him with the distinct feeling that formal ways to resolve disputes were not necessarily what the clients wanted. He qualified as a mediator in 1994, and as an adjudicator in 1999. He is recognised as a leader in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
He has been involved in cases with two or multi parties and in one case more than fifty parties.
Some cases are large in the millions, some moderate sized with a sizeable number of small cases such as personal property disputes.
The parties have been international and domestic companies, banks, insurers, local authorities, charitable trusts, business and professional partnerships, religious groups, and many individuals.
Whilst English is the norm, use has been made in mediations of other languages such as French and Italian, and on one occasion Arabic.
Whilst primarily an engineering and construction specialist, I have conducted over 250 Mediations most of which are direct appointments.
In addition to mediating Anthony has used the widest possible selection of alternative ways to resolve disputes ranging from conciliations to formal arbitrations. He is an adjudicator registered with TecSA, the CIArb and CEDR, is visiting reader in Construction law and dispute resolution at Leeds Metropolitan University and lectures widely.
Another important area of practice is as an Adjudicator where appointments are generally made through TeCSA. Adjudication in the construction industry represent one of the fastest most economic ways of resolving disputes. Simple Conciliation appointments usually come either directly or through trade insurance schemes again providing a fixed cost resolution service.
Arbitrator and Assessor appointments are usually direct and I particularly specialise in professional, partnership and commercial disputes.
Examples of the 28 mediations conducted in 2010
Examples of the 30 mediations conducted in 2009
See Anthony Glaister's full CV by using the links to the left.
A partnership break up of a family farm is unfortunately a regular occurrence. Relationships are inevitably very tense. Finding agreed solutions that avoid breaking up farms into unviable units is difficult. I encourage family members to work together to perhaps create solutions that they didn’t imagine were possible before the mediation such as maximising value by diversification or restoring the working relationships to avoid the farm splitting up.
I have handled produce disputes between producers and purchasers, livestock problems with horses and pigs and game bird rearing between shoot and adjoining farmers.
Property disputes are rife in on and over the countryside and I have dealt with rights of way, riparian rights, tenant landlord relations and title disputes.
The largest section of disputes mediated involve the breakdown of a commercial relationship. Maybe this involves quality or quantity issues between vendor and purchaser. On many occasions the breakdowns lead to a cessation of commercial activity between the companies. Mediation can restore relationships or it can simply achieve a commercially sensible deal that alluded the parties in their direct negotiations.
Take for example a tripartite dispute involving a manufacturer in France, a distributor and an end user retailer in the UK. Dealing with different jurisdictions and more than two parties adds to the expense of resolving any dispute. Mediation provides the happy medium of achieving a workable result that suited everyone. The manufacturer was paid something, the distributor who damaged the goods shared in the costs and the buyer was just happy to achieve a quick result and went on the deal with the manufacturer again.
This sector provides the most regular source of mediations whether they be large disputes between developer and main contractors, and respective layers of sub contractors and consultants, or smaller domestic building disputes. Whilst adjudication may be available that may be costly and damages relationships.
On the larger scale take for example a dispute between an international manufacturer and a contractor over a final account. There were many issues such as time and loss and expense. The mediation provides a forum for discussion and presentations in two cases including slide shows. The flexibility of the process and the traditional private sessions provide the right level of dialogue to reach settlement either on or sometimes shortly after the mediation takes place.
At the micro scale you have often small disputes where the costs of resolving them would be far more than the value of the complaint. Consider using conciliation where for a fixed price I can do a time limited mediation followed if necessary by a temporarily binding decision. My work with the FMB and their Building Guarantee Scheme shows how well this works often for a cost of less than £500. Do take look at my review of David Richbell’s book on mediation in the construction industry by clicking the ‘More Info’ tab above.
Instructing solicitors – Eversheds, Gordons, DLA, Hill Dickinson, Pinsent Masons, Watson Burton and many others.
There is nothing like families for having seemingly irresolvable disputes. I have developed a specialisation for mediating very difficult interpersonal disputes. Trust and rapport between mediator and party and being able to maximise the efficacy of legal representatives is key to securing workable solutions.
Examples include many family businesses in manufacturing, agriculture, property and retail and on occasions involving various ethnic and religious origins. There are not many settlement agreements that have been asked on one occasion to be blessed in a Sikh temple. As always there’s the hope that by resolving commercial disputes personal relationships are restored.
Owners of a franchise business are often in conflict with the franchisor over trading terms, property usage or termination arrangements. Regular settlement conferences and mediations usually culminate in workable settlements securing either a clean break or in some cases renewals of the agreement.
Restoring relationships between franchisor and franchisee can be really satisfying. The British Franchise Association recommends mediation to its members.
There is nothing like partnerships for having really messy disputes usually over termination arrangements. I have developed a specialisation for mediating very difficult interpersonal disputes. Trust and rapport between mediator and party and being able to maximise the efficacy of legal representatives is key to securing workable solutions in partnership breakdowns. There is very real satisfaction in hearing a pair of solicitors who were partners for years not having spoken for years and then resolving their litigation by capping it with arranging to play a game of golf the following week.
Professional people get themselves involved in negligence claims and I have mediated claims involving surveyors, solicitors, architects and others with PI insurers either in attendance or otherwise contactable. My specialisation in construction disputes is particularly useful in understanding the technical details.
Instructing solicitors; Berrymans, Beachcrofts, Haliwells, Hill Dickinson, Squire and Co, Watson Burtons and Weightmans.
‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ whether we refer to an estate in Scotland to a boundary dispute in Scunthorpe. Property ‘rights’ make fertile territory for disputes. I have mediated disputes involving boundaries, rights of way, options to purchase, valuation, landlord and tenant, development land, ransom strips, farms etc. They have a high settlement rate, particularly where the high cost of not settling is compared to often the modest size of claims.
Having developed a particular bias towards family related disputes, the fall outs involving relatives and erstwhile colleagues of the deceased and those benefiting from trusts can provide real challenges to the mediator.
Recent examples include resolving two mother/son disputes one establishing a trust for circa £1 million in favour of grandchildren, and reorganising the inheritance of a farm/estate, and disputes over Variation of Trust Act claims.
| Solicitor | 1980 |
| Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators | 1990 |
| Panel Mediator, CEDR | 1994 |
| Panel Adjudicator, TeCSA & CEDR | 1999 |
| Panel Mediator, Court of Appeal, NMH | 1999 |
| Panel Mediator, Consensus Mediation | 2000 |
| Panel Mediator, CIArb CIOB & Law Society | 2001 |
| Conciliator with www.ccgroup.org.uk and FMB | 2003 |
Other comments:
‘The most enigmatic of mediators’ Chambers Guide 2003
‘A highly effective communicator who kept the wheels in motion where others would have ground to a halt’
‘Anthony built a good rapport with the parties making settlement much more achievable’
‘He clearly understood the underlying issues straight away, and gently escorted the clients towards the centre ground .. they did not feel under any pressure. We would certainly use him again’
‘Despite the technical issues, we were able to cut through the peripheral bits to concentrate on what most concerned the client so we reached settlement far earlier than we anticipated’
‘My clients as ex partners had been suing each other for all these years and there must be something rather special about mediation for them to arrange to play golf with each other the week after. Well done’
COMMENDED AS A LEADING MEDIATOR IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND BY THE 2000/7 ANNUAL EDITIONS OF CHAMBERS GUIDE AND THE LEGAL 500 AND VOTED YORKSHIRE DISPUTE RESOLUTION LAWYER OF THE YEAR 2007.
Member of:
I sit as a Visiting Fellow on the MSc Construction Law and Dispute Resolution course at Leeds Metropolitan University teaching primarily on the Adjudication and ADR modules.
Articles in Arbitration Journal, ADR Journal, Solicitors Journal on such subjects as comparisons of arbitration and adjudication, mediation practice and court schemes.
© 2008 - 2010 Anthony Glaister. All rights reserved.
