Mediation Experience

Ruth is a committed and qualified mediator, passionate about helping parties to reach a settlement to their disputes, put the matter behind them and move on with their lives and/or their businesses. She has successfully mediated disputes in a wide range of commercial areas since 2001.

Even where parties cannot settle their differences through mediation, Ruth strives to ensure that their experience of examining their position from a different ‘angle’ with the help of a neutral mediator and in a confidential setting is positive and helpful. Her experience is that even unsuccessful mediations have represented ‘turning points’ for parties in dispute, in that they frequently feel more able to communicate directly with each other following a mediation, and either settle their dispute soon after or substantially narrow the points in dispute.

Although not a lawyer, Ruth has more than 30 years of experience of participating in ‘formal’ dispute resolution as an expert witness in courts and arbitrations. She has also been a party in two mediations – on both occasions, the help of a mediator led to solutions to what had initially seemed to be irreconcilable differences. Her experience has convinced her that mediation is a better way to settle differences than resorting to (or continuing with) court action.

Professional Experience

Ruth is a chartered geologist and chartered engineer by profession and holds an MBA.  She has 38 years’ experience as a consulting engineering geologist specialising in providing advice principally associated with the evaluation and sustainable exploitation of construction raw materials.  Alongside her technical and commercial experience in consultancy, she has been a qualified and practising civil and commercial mediator for a wide range of disputes since 2001.

Ruth is able to understand and communicate technical details of projects to the public and non-technical professionals and is also skilled in communicating community concerns and suggestions to technical specialists. Parties have found these skills, alongside her broad business experience, particularly helpful in mediation, especially when the factual background to a dispute is complicated and/or technical.