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Managing conflict better

One of Scotland's most experienced mediators

My name is Charlie Irvine, and I've been mediating for over 25 years. This website does two things: i) explain what you can expect from me as a mediator and ii) provide information and resources about mediation generally.

My aim is to help people to resolve disputes in their own way and to their own satisfaction. Conflict can be draining and perplexing, and I work patiently and persistently for as long as it takes to find a solution. I work with solicitors and their clients, taking time to design the best process for each situation. Since March 2020 I have been working online via Zoom.

My mediation practice includes succession and inheritance, workplace and employment, commercial disputes, education, the NHS and professional complaints.

Teaching: I am course leader on Strathclyde Law School’s MSc in Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

Academic writing: you can download a number of my articles and reports, and find links to other useful resources on mediation.

I challenge myself every year to improve my practice. It is a unique privilege to be invited into people’s lives when they're facing conflict; they deserve nothing less than the best I can do.

Here are a few of my contributions to the Kluwer Mediation Blog. The full list of topics is here.

Who am I looking at? Gaze in online mediation

‘Because you’re distant, forgive me for being a little bit bossy’ (Paddy O’Connell, BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House)

After plying their trade for a while mediators (and broadcasters) develop a persona, not so much bolted on as inhabited...

Point of principle: what it really means and why it may be fatal to the Brexit trade talks

“I think the EU will need to move significantly on both those key points because they’re points of principle.” (Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, speaking on the BBC this morning)

The Brexit negotiation, despite its dizzying stakes, has triggered a fair amount of wry humour. I’ve poked gentle fun at the protagonists myself: Brexit Irritators: Davis and Barnier on Negotiation. But today isn’t funny at all, my stomach tightening at the thought of the chaos and recrimination to come. The trigger? The dread phrase ‘point of principle.’