Antony is an experienced and highly-skilled mediator with a mediation practice that extends into a number of different areas. This enables him to provide a wider range of mediation than many other mediators. He also has considerable experience as a mediation advocate.

Antony was called to the Bar in 1984 and practises from Littleton Chambers: http://www.littletonchambers.com/barrister/antony-sendall/ He has been a leading member of the Employment Bar for over 25 years. He also has wide experience of Commercial Law, Sports Law and Professional Negligence. He first became accredited as a Civil and Commercial Mediator in 2008 and then added Workplace Mediation and Community Mediation to his skillset.

His complementary skills as a barrister have led to him being instructed as a mediator in a very wide range of employment and workplace mediations as well as civil and commercial disputes of all types. In addition, after qualifying as a Community Mediator, Antony has devoted at least 20 days per year to pro bono community mediations of all sorts which has given his a huge breadth of experience of different types of mediation models.

Antony has conducted mediations in the following types of dispute:

• Employment/workplace disputes including, bullying, discrimination and victimisation claims of all sorts, dismissals, whistleblowing claims, terms and conditions disputes and redundancies.
• Commercial contract claims varying in value between a few thousands of pounds up to a multi-million pound investment banking dispute
• Numerous restrictive covenants/confidential information disputes
• Partnership disputes
• Disputes involving sporting bodies and individuals engaged in sporting activities
• Business tenancy disputes
• Education disputes, including mediations between universities and their academic staff or students and between schools and staff and between teachers and parents
• Neighbour disputes, including boundary disputes, nuisance and trespass claims and violent feuds between neighbours where the reference to mediation has emanated from the Police, a local authority, a housing association or landlord
• Inter-generational disputes between family members, including disputed wills

All mediations are confidential, but some of Antony’s mediated cases have involved very high profile individuals and/or issues in the public spotlight, which have required extremely sensitive and confidential handling. For example, Antony was involved in the successful mediation of a dispute between a media organisation and one of its senior employees concerning allegations of phone-hacking all set in the context of a high profile police investigation.

Antony possesses all of the skills one would expect from an experienced mediation practitioner. He has a highly engaging manner, full of energy, enthusiasm and good humour, whilst remaining empathetic and sensitive. Most mediators like to describe themselves as impartial and neutral, but Antony considers such a stance to be too passive, preferring a rather more proactive approach that is best described as ‘omni-partial’, with sleeves rolled up, working equally hard in the best interests of every party.

Antony also has a very clear focus upon “resolution” (the ‘R’ in ADR), as opposed to mere compromise or settlement. He does not view mediation as just a form of negotiation or ‘horse-trading’ and is not a fan of ‘shuttle diplomacy’. He is always prepared to examine or challenge apparently entrenched positions, assertions of ‘bottom lines’ or ‘over my dead body’ issues. He believes strongly that the scope of potential outcomes is limited only by the imaginations of the participants and expects everyone involved to think creatively and collaboratively.

His considerable experience in community mediation, which follows a different mediation model from that of commercial mediation, has allowed him to develop and fuse the skills he has acquired in each area giving him a more varied and flexible ‘toolbox’ than many other purely commercial mediators. His high success rate is undoubtedly the result of his ability to be flexible in his style and approach and to find just the right tool for the job in hand.

Helen Sendall

Helen is a qualified community mediator with experience of a range of different types of community mediation, including neighbour and boundary disputes and complaints of nuisance. She is a seasoned co-mediator and has mediated disputes involving multiple parties. She also has experience with more complex, on-going mediations where a series of disputes are resolved chronologically over various meetings.

With a background in graphic design, web design and brand development in a large investment bank in the City, Helen began to develop and fine-tune her mediation skills when working offsite with a marketing firm, and acting as a media-speak translator and problem solver between the bank and the creative team. Before that, she worked in customer services, finding solutions to issues and complaints and liaising between customers and management.

Helen has training in social work with people with physical and learning disabilities, visual and auditory impairment and neurological disorders. She has a sensitive and inclusive approach to bringing mediation to people of various abilities.

Helen brings commercial common sense and creative thinking to the table, as well as her expertise in empathetic and active listening. She displays a calm and steady approach to dispute resolution, ensuring the process is fair and focused. She approaches meetings with positivity and good humour, and is proficient in diffusing emotionally charged situations. She has a very high rate of successful resolutions.