Personal bio
Rebecca is an accomplished and highly effective mediator. Described as “superb”, “outstanding” and “a credit to her profession”, Rebecca has been a full-time mediator with IPOS since 2016. Appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Civil Mediation Council from May 2021, and a member of the Court of Appeal specialist mediator panel, Rebecca is passionate about the process and benefits of mediation, regularly speaking at conferences and giving training with a particular focus on the psychology of mediation and negotiation. Clients regularly comment that Rebecca is especially good at developing an effective rapport and managing difficult conversations. By preparing effectively and adapting each mediation to the needs of the parties, Rebecca calmly and authoritatively manages the process in a way which is perceptive and sensitive, whilst providing robust legal or commercial challenge when needed. Mediating a wide range of commercial disputes, Rebecca is renowned for both her Financial Services expertise and for disputes involving SMEs. Recognised as a Lead Mediator in both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, she regularly mediates disputes involving breach of contract, professional negligence, fraud, insolvency, breach of warranty and property law matters. With a particular interest in complex, long-running claims involving family businesses and inter-family relationships, Rebecca also regularly mediates shareholder, or quasi-shareholder disputes. Before becoming a full-time mediator, Rebecca was Head of Litigation at a so-called “bad bank”, a role which resulted in her being awarded Legal Counsel of the Year at the 2013 British Legal Awards, partly as a consequence of her novel approach to resolving classes of disputes by mediation. Her experience as a negotiating party in mediation is unparalleled and gives her a unique insight into the process. Prior to working in-house, Rebecca set up and managed her own retail business from scratch, receiving the coveted Drapers A