In the realm of resolving commercial disputes, mediation advocacy emerges as a pivotal force, offering a pathway to optimal settlements while fostering collaboration among parties.
Gregory Vijayendran SC, a disputes partner practising with Rajah and Tann LLP and SIMC Specialist Mediator, suggests that lawyers are in a favourable position to help their clients resolve, remove and recover from hurts arising from disputes.
Reflecting on 30 years of practice, Francis Goh, Partner at Harry Elias Partnership LLP and SIMC Specialist Mediator, calls us to rethink what it means to win. Now more than ever, protecting what we truly value has never been more relevant.
SIMC Specialist Mediator and WhiteFern Managing Director K. Anparasan runs a niche practice dealing with reinsurance-insurance disputes in commercial matters. Over the years, mediation in insurance disputes has gone up. “It has gained traction,” says Anpa. “Most insurers and reinsurers have realized the savings, not just in terms of time and costs, but it also saves commercial relations.”
SIMC Specialist Mediator and TKQP Joint Managing Partner Marina Chin SC admits to being “uncompromising” as a litigator. But over the years, as she becomes more involved in mediation, “understanding other people’s views, other perspectives is actually important,” she says, and all the more so as mediator.
‘And it works’, says Tay Yu Jin, about a virtual mediation he participated as counsel in 2020. The case, a massive energy dispute, involved many parties dialing in from five jurisdictions across several time zones. Yu Jin further explains the value of institutional mediation; SIMC facilitated the pre-mediation process and administered the week-long session – no easy feat, considering the scale of...
In this case, a fully online mediation administered by SIMC, Specialist Mediator William Ong switched effectively between English, Mandarin, Hokkien and some Teochew to warm frigid relations between parties. Although challenging, speaking a language that parties were comfortable with worked to the benefit of the case. As parties powered through, they reached consensus at 8pm with the settlement...
