Cogent Mediation

Coronavirus/Covid-19 Update:

As the coronavirus pandemic progresses, it is clear that necessary social distancing measures are having a dramatic impact on everyone’s lives, and on businesses. The resolution of disputes is subject to delays at all stages, including normal processes and timetables for disputes which have reached the stage of formal litigation. Courts are currently still operating but the reality is that many cases will be postponed, causing additional costs and disruption to parties.

For several years, Cogent Mediation has offered a remote mediation service, ‘i-mediate’, using telephone, email and virtual meeting rooms for lower value/ less complex disputes, where the parties are located some distance from each other, making face to face meetings logistically difficult and where the relationship between the parties is such that they would find a face-to-face meeting too difficult.

In the current circumstances, Cogent Mediation is offering remote mediations to all clients, either in place of, or to be used in combination with, face to face mediations. Please see i-mediate for further information, and please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

Welcome to Cogent Mediation.

Cogent Mediation offers mediation for disputes within Kent and surrounding areas. Our partners are accredited Civil and Commercial, and Workplace and Employment Mediators (London School of Mediation) and are registered as Individual Mediators with the Civil Mediation Council.

Cogent Mediation has a particular focus on small claims and small business disputes, as well as property, neighbourhood disputes and disputes within the education sector. We are also able to help with disputes at work which cost money through lost management time, lower productivity, higher sickness and absenteeism and higher employee turnover. In times of economic uncertainty, these costs are even more crucial.

We are also able to help in many other situations where conflict arises and relationships are strained – whether these are commercial or personal relationships. Our aim is to help parties to resolve their issues before disputes escalate to a point where relationships have broken down completely and the only option is litigation.

"We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt the format of mediations we facilitate to suit the needs of the parties and the circumstances of the case.

- Clare Higgins
Partner, Cogent Mediation

Mediation can provide a quick, flexible and cost-effective way to resolve time consuming disputes. We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt the format of mediations we facilitate to suit the needs of the parties and the circumstances of the case. The process can take as little as a few hours, or a day, or be conducted over a series of meetings over several weeks. We can facilitate a mediation on short notice, and (where appropriate) are happy to communicate direct with the parties, rather than requiring their respective solicitors to provide us with detailed information and formal mediation bundles – this can help to minimise the costs to the parties and expedite the mediation.

We also offer 'i-mediate', an online mediation service which allows Cogent Mediation to act as an intermediary between parties where communication has broken down. This can be used as part of the mediation process, or as a means of bridging the gap between parties to re-establish connections to resolve disputes. Cogent Mediation use telephone, email and virtual mediation rooms to act as a ‘shuttle’ between parties. 'i-mediate' can be particularly effective as it can be more cost effective for lower value disputes, it can help to maintain momentum as parties work towards a mediation agreement and/or a face to face meeting and it can be helpful to re-establish connections between parties.

"Our mediations are focused on enabling parties to resolve their issues collaboratively, and to find a solution which meets their differing concerns as fully as possible.

- Lou Gedney
Partner, Cogent Mediation

Our mediations focus on enabling parties to resolve issues collaboratively, and find a solution which meets their differing concerns as fully as possible. We aim to open perspectives and keep expectations realistic, so that the mediation meeting has the best chance of success. Our mediators are highly experienced in dispute resolution and are well placed to facilitate effective mediations which minimise the disruption to all parties and which deliver practical, long term solutions. We offer a free telephone consultation to parties involved in a dispute to discuss whether and how we might be able to assist.

We adhere to the EU Code of Conduct for Mediators

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