Isabel Phillips. I am confident that the settlement would not have been secured without her persistence. Overview

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1 CEDR Accreditation CEDR Mediation Panel: Languages - Fluent: Languages - Conv.: English, German Bosnian, Croatian, French, Serbian Isabel Phillips Location: United Kingdom Germany I am confident that the settlement would not have been secured without her persistence. Mediation Feedback Overview Isabel Phillips is a conflict management specialist who has been a practising mediator for over ten years. She mediates in a range of sectors with particular emphasis on commercial contract, NGOs / Charities, employment, professional negligence, construction and has considerable experience in dealing with situations involving highly contentious and emotional situations. She has also mediated in a range of circumstances including time-limited mediation and telephone mediation. Professional Background Having originally trained in Germany and mediated in ethno-political and intra-organisational conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Isabel joined the CEDR staff in Her responsibilities include mediation, consultancy, coaching and training. Isabel spends a good proportion of her time with international, corporate and public sector organisations assisting them in improving the management of enduring conflict caused by structural and cultural issues which cannot be resolved through one-time agreements. This work includes conflict systems and training needs analysis, coaching and the design and delivery of in-house courses to enable staff to manage conflict more effectively. Isabel is a member of the Mediator Skills Training Faculty and a Doctoral Candidate at the School of International and Social Studies, University of Bradford. Expertise Employment & Workplace Professional Negligence Sale of Goods & Services ICT Property 1

2 Dispute Experience (Non-Neutral work in italics) Employment & Workplace High emotion NGO dispute involving hunger-striking, policy and employment issues. Claim against multi-national for victimisation where original claimant had died in connection with the employment Dispute between multiple members of the executive on an NGO Dispute between manager and employee leading to the breakdown of working relationships with the whole team Dispute between team members working in extreme environment involving high levels of intercultural conflict ICT - Information, Communication & Technology: Dispute relating to unpaid invoices with counterclaims relating to software development and contract obligations and negligence. Professional Negligence Claim against solicitors for failure represent client adequately, leading to wrongful eviction and an extended period of homelessness. Claim against local authority for alleged failure to provide adequately for a child with special educational needs. Multi-party dispute arising from alleged negligence on the part of architect, engineer and contractors relating to the technical specifications of a building project. Telephone mediation relating to non-payment of invoices with counter-claims of negligence and malpractice. Property Conflict between those owning a share of the freehold in a large property, relating to technical specifications and works done on joint and individual parts of a property. Landlord tenant dispute involving pet ownership and health and safety issues. 2

3 Several disputes between tenants relating to noise and harassment. Sale of Goods & Services Dispute involving non-payment of invoices, delay and consequential loss arising from site conditions and staff conduct. Claim relating to the supply of specialist building materials with counter-claim relating to quality of goods and workmanship. Purchase and supply of bulk timber orders dispute over quality of goods and non-payment of invoices. Other Dispute Resolution Experience Extensive experience of on-going third-party neutral processes within organisations. Experience involving work with highly emotional parties, including hunger-strikers and drug addicts. Personal Style Isabel has an attentive style, with a willingness to listen and be facilitative. However this is firmly balanced by the willingness to challenge and reality test in order to assist in the development of creative and sustainable solutions for those involved. Feedback I thought Isabel was good and she explained everything well. She was very pleasant and patient. She moved things along quickly....with amazing professionalism and subtle strategies she has, without doubt, forged the beginnings of what I deem to be the start of a possible resolution. kept calm at all times, even when the situation turned really heated, and managed to maintain a proper tone and level to calm us all. I would like to express how impressed I was with how the session was conducted which included Isabel s patience and a steadfast unbiased stance. She managed the parties expectations pretty well, always in line with what was happening. I would use her again. 3

4 She explained the process very well and kept suggesting different options and ideas to the parties. I am confident that the settlement would not have been secured without her persistence. managed the parties expectations well, aligning them with what was happening. She was very good and very professional. We would definitely use her again. easy-going, but didn t allow the momentum to dissipate. She didn t let the momentum drop. Professional Skills Isabel is a mediator, trainer, lecturer, coach and researcher. Her current experience of working with corporate and public sector clients on the design and delivery of internal training has provided her with insight into a range of different industries and roles. Recent courses include training for lawyers, HR professionals, insurers, and civil servants in sectors including international governmental, construction, investment, insurance, pharmaceutical, energy, and government. The training covers areas such as managing intra- and inter-team conflict, negotiation, risk analysis, managing high emotion and having difficult conversations. She is a lecturer at the University of Westminster and the University of Bradford. Having previously taught on the undergraduate LLB course at Westminster, she is now teaching an interdisciplinary course for LLM/MA students of international law, business psychology and conflict resolution students at postgraduate level. She also teaches on the Masters level Applied Conflict Resolution Skills course at Bradford. She has also lectured at London South Bank University, Bucerius Law School (Hamburg), The University of Essex. Isabel has worked as coach with a variety of clients from commercial and IGO backgrounds. Her coaching practice draws on her background in Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Coaching. She is also a PhD candidate in the School of Social and International Studies at the University of Bradford. Isabel holds a First in History from Liverpool University, an MA (Distinction) in International Relations from the University of East Anglia and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Research Methods (Distinction) from Bradford University. 4

5 She did post-graduate research at the Institute for International and Intercultural Studies at Bremen University, Germany and holds the German vocational qualification in Civilian Conflict Transformation and Civil Peace Service (Friedensfachkraft FFK ). As project manager for "Forum ZFD" (a German NGO), she ran the civilian conflict resolution project in Bosnia-Herzegovina from This involved facilitation, mediation and training work with local non-governmental organisations. In 2003 she moved into the commercial field, gained CEDR accreditation and worked for CEDR full time as a mediator, trainer and conflict consultant between 2003 and In 2012 she left CEDR to concentrate on her PhD, lecturing and free-lance practice, but continues to provide consultancy services to CEDR. Isabel is a fluent German speaker. She also has good French comprehension and conversational level comprehension of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. 5