Testimonials

 

From recent mediations:


"I was perhaps the most sceptical of the board amout mediation.....You can consider me a convert and, if our industry as a whole was to buy into the process, perhaps the baggage of disputes would be lessened."

The commercial director of a Scottish construction company


"Thank you very much indeed for your hard work, encouragement and professionalism yesterday in helping to bring this matter to a successful resolution. I know that our clients left the venue feeling that a line had certainly been drawn, and that they could move on. Mediation was, in my view, the perfrect forum for resolving this kind of dispute.

Days like yesterday make me even more committed to try and advance mediation in Scotland. As a Firm it is something we are now actively encouraging Clients to consider, and at an early stage of a dispute at that."

Jamie Whittle, Partner, R&R Urquhart, Inverness


"Great credit must go to John Sturrock and Core. They were an eye opener to me and I now much approve of the mediation concept. You saved me a fortune and endless agony.”

A Business Leader in Scotland after a successful mediation

"Once again, I am grateful for the assistance and support shown throughout the mediation which certainly went a long way to achieving a resolution to the claim. With the excellent record I've had with Core and mediation as a process, I will continue to consider this form of ADR in all the claims I handle!"

Paul Crawley, Profit Claims Specialist, Royal & Sun Alliance

"I would like to thank you and your team for your assistance in bringing such a longstanding complicated dispute between the parties to a mutually acceptable conclusion."

"On a general basis and having had time to reflect I'm satisfied that what was achieved was a good result for both parties. I'd also say that I was very impressed by the process which saw you become involved in the 'personal' issues as I've no doubt at all that, given the nature of this claim, it was never going to settle through any conventional approach. The settlement was extremely well received by the Insured who were very pleased that this very long and troublesome claim had been amicably resolved."

An Insurance Claims Manager

 

 

“I'm very grateful to the whole team at Core for their support on this case - I saw in particular how much early work by the solicitors can be extremely helpful to the process, and your guidance on that was invaluable. It was fascinating to be part of a real mediation, and I'm even more sold on the concept than I was before. My client seems happy, and I have absolutely no doubt that mediation was the way to resolve this particular dispute.”

Sheila Webster, Bell & Scott, following a recent Core mediation involving a major commercial property matter

 

 

"On my own and my clients' behalf, I would like to thank you and your team for your assistance in bringing such a long standing complicated dispute between the parties to a mutually acceptable conclusion. Both the mediation process and your organisation were instrumental in reaching a resolution for my clients in a very complicated set of circumstances. It was an interesting and rewarding experience, both professionally and personally, to be involved in the mediation with you."

Neil Torrance of Iain Smith & Co, following a recent Core mediation involving intellectual property and corporate issues

 

 

“What to me was most fascinating was the mediator’s pragmatic approach to the range of possible valuations ~ a sort of 'Alexander with the Gordian knot' ~ and then going on to help the parties to see that they too needed to do the same. Thereby they came to their own determination of a fair outcome.

The opposing parties may never again like or trust each other but they could show courtesy and respect, symbolic of maturity and self-determination, because they had themselves been respected, enabled to be something beyond the mere compulsory recipients of someone else's arbitrary opinion."

Dr David Molyneaux, business ethicist. Click here to read the full text of this facinating analysis on mediation.

 

 

“Please pass on my thanks to all of your team for their assistance with the mediation – I believe all of the parties are happy with the outcome and would definitely agree that it was a much more positive experience than a tribunal.”

A solicitor’s comment following a recent Core mediation involving an employment issue

 

 

"We are very pleased and relieved that we have achieved closure and I do genuinely hope that the other party also feels that it has been a positive experience.  I am particularly grateful to you for encouraging us to persevere at the end when it seemed all was lost.  On a general level I found it a terrific learning experience and my horizons have definitely been broadened in terms of considering different ways to manage disputes."

A legal adviser to a company involved in a recent Core mediation

 

 

“I was absolutely delighted with yesterday's mediation, which achieved a superb result. We settled what had become a hugely protracted and complex case, involving over the past three years, £20,000 + of costs, four solicitors, two Advocates, two QC's which had only just reached the procedure roll stage in the Court of Session. My client will now be able to move on, and with peace. I have to say that I was completely awestruck by the result and further convinced about the future of mediation - it is quite an incredible tool.

I would also like to mention the quality of the welcome, accommodation and lunch at Core’s premises - all of which are as important as the actual process of mediation. The Core staff whom we met were extremely friendly and obliging and turned up with provisions at the perfect times. In short it was slick, effective and made our client feel at ease and able to cope with the mediation itself. Please pass on my thanks to all involved in resolving this dispute – I remain completely convinced by the Core project.”

A Scottish Advocate after a recent Core mediation

 

 

“I wish we had known about Core Mediation two years ago, but better late than never.  We were very impressed with their service, and by the constructive and imaginative way in which we were able to resolve the matters we were working on.  Not only was it great value, in terms of both time and money, but we are now free to refocus on the needs of the business going forward.”

Martin A Cooke, Group Company Secretary, The Edrington Group Limited

 

 

“The case that we mediated had been outstanding for 7 years ... At the outset the parties were about £250,000 apart. This was not a straight forward case. Traditional methods of negotiation had failed. The next stop was the court room. We agreed to try something different - mediation. It worked! But why?

 

  • The parties attended because they wanted to find a solution and settle. We were focused. 

 

  • We were prepared and that involved recognising the value (at either end of the scale), the risks, the costs of not settling. Of course that is all common sense and should be standard practice but sometimes it takes something to prompt us to do it.

 

  • The decision makers were all there and were involved not just spectating.

 

  • The mediator acted as a voice of reason and when needed poured oil on waters - and sometimes that was needed. The value of this independent voice of reason can not and should not be under estimated.

 

All parties were happy with the terms agreed and parted on good terms - no acrimony, no bad feeling, no loser. It's the first time as an Insurer that I have been able to personally wish the claimant well following settlement and that type of personal interaction can only reflect well on our business. The result was a genuine feel good factor for me personally and, I believe, for all involved.”

Tony Newman, Claims Controller, Allianz Cornhill, following a recent Core personal injury mediation

 

 

 

 

Recent comments on Core’s mediation courses:

"A huge thank you to you for a well put together and delivered session yesterday which really achieved my objectives and those of the team. The feedback I have received has been hugely positive and everyone found it worthwhile and educational."

In house mediation training for a financial organisation

"The course was one of the best training courses I have ever been on."

"Excellent course. Entertainingly presented with high quality trainers."

"It was a brilliantly constructed and delivered session - and impressed even the cynics."

Philip Rodney, Managing Partner, Burness, commenting on a recent Core in-house course on mediation.

 

 

“The course was one of the best training courses I have ever been on.” 

Denise Loney, Semple Fraser

 

 

“Excellent course. Entertainingly presented with high quality trainers. Has given me more cause for thought than most other courses I have attended. I increasingly became convinced over the course that mediation can and does work.” 

Alan McGregor, Cairn Energy

 

 

“Quite the best I have been on. I was genuinely very impressed.  I can see that the techniques we were being taught were used in the conception and delivery of the course itself.” 

Jim McLean, Burness

 

 

“I enjoyed the course, and feel that it was a most useful exercise in general as well as in relation to mediation in particular. I wish to express my appreciation to you and all your colleagues for the excellent way in which you conducted the whole course. You made a learning experience a pleasure!” 

Donald Campbell, Advocate

 

 

“I found the course exhilarating, extremely hard work and most thought provoking. This course has been far more useful as it concentrated very much on my development as well as giving me the opportunity of benefiting from others’ experiences.” 

Anne Muirhead, Price Waterhouse Coopers

 

 

"The course was one of the best traiing courses I have ever been on."

"Excellent course. Entertainingly presented with high quality trainers." “Thank you for an amazing Mediation Course, I found it to be a life changing and informing experience. The course design, content and style of delivery was first class. I think your Core Team are very impressive, in their kind and professional manner.”

 

 

“I have little snap shot moments of different challenges and experiences from which I have learnt a great deal and will remember for a long time to come”.

 

 

“This is an excellently constructed and delivered course which delivers what was set out in the syllabus.”

 

 

“I believe much of what I have discovered… is exportable to other fields of professional practice and indeed human interactivity.”

 

 

“I think that it would be fair to say that with the course comes a certain degree of self analysis which probably very few adults who lead busy lives have very much opportunity to think about on a daily or even annual basis.”

 

 

“Mediation training was one of the most challenging and illuminating experiences I have undergone since qualifying as a solicitor.”

 

“Just a brief note to thank you for a most excellent course yesterday. Many who attended had little real experience of the mediation process and the feed back is that everyone found the course stimulating and rewarding.” (partner in law firm, commenting on in-house mediation training)