Participant Comments - Legal
"The content and presentation was of very high standard. Extremely relevant to current practice via the negotiation module. Good balance achieved between theory and practice."
Eamonn Coffey, Bar Council of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
"Much more grounded and practical than I expected. I learned more about why we do what we do when negotiating. I now know how to be a more effective negotiator. Impressive teachers."
Mark Dunne, Bar Council of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
"New ideas and approaches to ADR. Actual mediation and negotiation role plays were very beneficial."
Murray Johnson, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"The personalities of the facilitators greatly helped with understanding the processes involved."
John McBratney, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"Excellent mix of role play, presentations and videos. Liked the practical exploration of facilitation."
Patrick McCann, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"The instructors were excellent. The instructors’ legal backgrounds made one less hostile to concepts many lawyers regard with suspicion. The workshop explored areas that present the most jeopardy to a fledging mediator."
Michael MacNamee, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"Workshop was enjoyable and informative. Instructors were excellent." Pat O’Brien, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"Enlighting, informative, professional and very effective overall."
Lorraine O’Sullivan, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"Role plays, lectures, handouts and instructors were all very good."
Marie Slattery, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"A very complete introduction into mediation: what it involves and how it works. The workshop was very practical, addressing real problems and issues. Instructors were very effective, particularly at interspersing of concrete experiences of actual mediation."
John Whelan, Bar Council of Ireland, Ireland
"Very stretching and likely to affect many aspects of practice. Instructors were fantastically good."
Jeremy Lane, Pengilly & Ridge, Weymouth, England
"Superb and very professional. Excellent speakers and tutors."
Peter, Siu Lam Ma, Lai K M & Li, Hong Kong
"A very good introduction to the principles of negotiation and mediation."
George Josselyn, Bircham Dyson Bell, London, England
"The trainers practised what they preached and put us in a position to discover the features of the process and its dilemmas from direct experience. It was instructive, interesting, fun and immediately applicable to my existing practice whilst opening up new, creative horizons for the future. In a profession where there is a strong sense of hierarchy and formality it was great to be relaxed and open with many different people on different levels on that hierarchy."
Peter Webster, Fenwick Elliott, London, England
"Very good and interesting workshop. Very high standard of presentation and training. Great deal of practical experience in order to gain practical insight into real life situations. Also good use of video training and mixed balance of lecturing /full group sessions. Excellent instructors. Great deal of experience and personality. Very effective."
Allison Dias, Davies Arnold Cooper, London, England
"I did not expect to enjoy the workshop as much as I did. I did not expect to learn as much as I did. Allan and Frank were just excellent - funny, smart and fabulously well informed. They are polished presenters with genuine enthusiasm and excellent communication skills."
Jane Tracy Forster, 4 Paper Buildings, London, England
"The enthusiasm of both speakers was obvious and quickly spread to all the delegates. The learning curve was very steep but my impression was that everyone learned a considerable amount. I certainly did. I was impressed by the quality of the speakers and appreciated the ability to role play to put into practice what had been taught."
Damian Cleary, Leboeuf Lamb Greene & Macrae, London, England
"This approach to mediation is utterly convincing. The presenters were a joy to listen to and were excellent. They both retained audience interest, generated energy and enthusiasm and demonstrated considerable personal knowledge and experience. "
Richard Highley, Barrister, London, England
"This workshop has clearly been well planned and thought through based on the experience of those who are running it. The practical exercises are amazing."
Joanne Kerr, Victoria Legal Aid, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
"Well organised. Highly professional teaching staff. Content of workshop totally riveting and very topical at this time in the UK. Learned a lot. Valuable for putting into practice. Very sound principles and concepts. Benefit of extensive practical experience of teachers. Thought provoking."
Dermot McDermott, Barrister, London, England
"Having spent a great deal of the last 30 years in negotiations, I feel this course has added some extra tools which will work in both negotiations, mediation and most one-on-ones."
David McIntosh, Managing Partner, Davies, Arnold, Cooper, London, England
"Allan Stitt is one of the best lecturers I have ever encountered; he knows how to engross the attention of his audiences."
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Vinelott, London, England
"One got the impression that the instructors were very experienced and had the highest possible credentials."
The Rt. Hon. Sir Brian Neill, London, England
"By far the most effective, interesting, and enjoyable training course I have ever been on. I now have a thorough understanding of the process of mediation and am looking forward to putting my newly acquired skills into practice. The course tutors not only expounded the subject matter with great clarity and humour, they created an atmosphere, which facilitated all of us to work together. The course participants ranged from junior members of the Bar to retired Law Lords. The concentration of practical experience was most effective. Excellent instructors."
Stephen Howd, ADR Chambers, London, England
"Teachers were very experienced, competent, and well prepared. Excellent materials. Practical advice. Course both interesting and enjoyable. Very effective instructors."
Lord Goff of Chieveley, London, England
"Outstanding presentation of fascinating material, mixed with humour and great enthusiasm. Superb instructors. I leave wanting to hear even more. Challenging, fun, highly educational. Well worth the time and effort."
J.P. Scrafton, ADR Chambers, London, England
"Exercises and videos were very helpful. Demonstrations most useful. Instructors were effective, supportive and engaging."
David Berkley, ADR Chambers, London, England
"10/10. A course that exactly met the needs and requirements I had."
Jonathan Dingle, ADR Chambers, London, England
"It was well structured and organized. There was a good balance between instruction and participation. I greatly enjoyed it. It was stimulating, challenging and rewarding. It was very satisfying. The instructors were both outstanding. Highly experienced. Very supportive. Brilliant!"
Laurence Kaye, Solicitor, London, England
"The enthusiasm and brilliant communication of our trainers; their listening skills and patience; and their helpful guidance. The balance between ‘talks’ and exercises was just perfect - and talks were excellently interactive. Videos helpful."
Nicholas Warren QC, Wilberforce Chambers, London, England
"Handouts very full and informative. There was not a moment that was not enjoyable. Enjoyed style of both Frank Handy and Allan Stitt. Relaxed, humorous yet very informative. The instructors maintained a high level of interest throughout."
Elissa Da Costa, Arlington Chambers, London, England
"The mix of lectures, role playing exercises and videos was pitched just right for achieving a combination of maximum interest and maximum instruction in the essentials of mediation – and they were all of a very high standard. It is difficult to say anything more than that I thoroughly enjoyed it all."
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Bridge, London, England
"The workshop was instructive and entertaining at the same time – and it got better and better over the four days. It introduced method and reasoned analysis into what would otherwise be a random process."
The Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Kerr, London, England
"The documentation and the administration were first class. It was brisk and very professional. Fascinating."
The Rt. Hon. Sir Brian Neill, London, England
"An enormous amount of thought and work has obviously been put into the preparation of this workshop. Everything was explained, both in theory and with reference to practical exercises, with great clarity. It was highly enjoyable, as well as being full of interest and most instructive."
Christopher Morcom, Q.C., London, England
"I found it really helpful and very informative. The instructors were both helpful, approachable and knowledgeable."
Cherie Booth QC, Matrix Chambers, London, England
"I came to the course believing I was a very good negotiator and easily capable of advancing to a mediator. This course demonstrated my inadequacies then, with a blank sheet, rebuilt and improved my skills and stimulated me to advance further. The instructors were excellent!"
Richard Buswell, Hardwicke Civil, London, England
"Exceeded expectations. Very practical and very informative. I knew very little about mediation before; now I feel I know quite a lot."
Christopher Nugee Q.C., Wilberforce Chambers, London, England
"Excellent teaching with the most imaginative, intelligent and well prepared methods. Top notch instructors. I cannot imagine that the skills of mediation could be taught in a more professional and thorough way."
Jonathan Seitler, Wilberforce Chambers, London, England
"Changed my view of mediation as an effective tool in dispute resolution."
Karim Lahham, Littman Chambers, London, England
"This was one of the best professional education experiences of my life. I wish I had done this ten years ago. Thorough organization and profoundly valid theory. Despite my thirty years of experience, this program proves you really can teach even an old dog new tricks. For the first day, I thought the Stitt Feld Handy Houston people were nuts but by the end of Day Two I received the epiphany that they and this program are brilliantly conceived."
John Allen, Varnum. Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett LLP, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
