13 December 2006

December saw two 729 Club events firstly our usual Breakfast Club at which 35 people were present at what appeared to be an irrevocable breakdown in the fragile business relationship of Ken & Tim of New Tricks Training. There were some concerned faces until our guest speaker Shaun Jardine (Head of Litigation at Brethertons Solicitors, Banbury www.brethertons.co.uk ) intervened to mediate between the two. What then followed was a working demonstration of mediation in practise as Shaun took Ken & Tim through the process in a 20 minute review: “To Mediate or to Litigate? That is the Question”.

Mediation is a voluntary, "without prejudice" process in which a neutral person (the mediator) helps to bring disputing parties to a settlement without having to resort to the courts. Independent research indicates that mediation is successful in about 90% of cases, which then result in a binding agreement.

What can mediation achieve for you?

Save money - management time and legal costs are kept to a minimum

Save time - mediation can be implemented quickly avoiding the stress of a lengthy legal process

Flexibility - unique solutions can be tailored to suit each particular dispute

Control -the process is unthreatening, the client remains in control and can call a halt to the proceedings if desired

Confidentiality - adverse publicity is avoided with no access to journalists or competitors

Simplicity - the process is informal, with each case being debated in a straightforward, constructive and accessible manner

Relationship management - mediation seeks to prevent the stress, which may be placed on both personal and business relationships by extended and costly litigation

Finds the bottom line - a skilled mediator can rapidly identify the real issues at stake and will guide the discussion towards solution in a frank and fair way.

Thanks to Shaun for an amusing and informative presntation that everyone heartily enjoyed.

The Bob Geldof charity bucket raised £35 which Shaun donated to Tony and Sue Melia's Malawi appeal. This remarkable retired couple went to Malawi to teach English and ended up supplying timber to build classroom furniture, rebuilding classrooms, reclaiming a secondary school from the bush and establishing an ambulance service all with their own savings.

On 18 December we hosted our first quiz night at The Crown and Cushion. The winning team were the Chipping Norton News Team and bottles of champagne were awarded to Keith Ruddle, Jill Thorley, Nova Bradley and Geoffrey Saul. Thanks to everone who attended

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