Stephen G Anderson LL.B, FMCA

Experience

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  Harrods Ltd

  Jan 1980 - Jul 1987

  I was fortunate to be an USDAW (trade union) member at Harrods in the 80s. I joined the union in around 1981 over a health & safety issue. Having learned that the Harrods branch was run largely by a coterie of unelected officers with no constitution, I helped the then branch secretary Nick Hostettler to democratise the organisation. He and I, together with several others, were then elected in their place. Initially I was branch chair, but following a bout of ill health, Nick stepped down as convener and I was elected in his place. At the time we had about 900 members and negotiated terms & conditions directly with the management.The union turned out to be a great spring board for many of the officers, many of whom went on to further education as mature students and subsequent successful non-retail careers. For me, I enjoyed representing members in disciplinary cases, and in the negotiations and I decided that these were even better reasons to study law than I had decided upon in my earlier job as the credit investigator. Show less It was my work as Harrods' debt collector in the 80s that gave me an interest in law. My job essentially entailed visiting those individuals based n Greater London who either weren't paying their bills, or had bounced cheques when buying goods - in the days when to ask for a cheque guarentee card felt like you were insulting your customers!Needless to say I was busy, and I tended to confine myself to visiting the addresses of the famous, important or very rich. As a disaffected young man, I enjoyed serving them with legal documents when required to do so and attending court to deal with minor claims. Through this I decided that, although I had no A Levels, I would go to night school, get one and go to college to study law, which is basically what I did, albeit that it took a few years. Show less

  • USDAW convener

    Jul 1985 - Jul 1987

  • Credit Investigator

    Jan 1980 - Jun 1985
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  Bates Wells & Braithwaite

  Mar 2001 - Jul 2007

  Partner

  Family partner.

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  Resolution Ipswich

  Mar 2007 - Mar 2011

  Press Officer

  I had great fun doubling up as Ipswich Resolution's press officer for a couple of years and got some great training from Resolution into the bargain.

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  Ipswich Collaborative Practice & Development Group

  Apr 2007 - Jan 2012

  POD Liaison Officer

  I act as a liaison between the POD members in Ipswich and other POD leaders around the country.

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  Suffolk In-court Family Mediation Group

  May 2007 - Apr 2013

  Organiser & Family Mediator

  In-court family mediation service, family mediator.

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  Suffolk Family Justice Council ADR Committee

  May 2007 - Aug 2012

  Chair

  I set up the committee in 2010 as a sub-committee to the Suffolk Family Justice Committee. We aim to meet 3 times a year to examine ways of improving the uptake of ADR to users of the family justice system in Suffolk's family courts.

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  Birketts LLP

  Aug 2007 - Oct 2012

  Family mediator, collaborative practitioner, agreement facilitator, Professional Practice Consultant

  Since August 2007: Mediator, Law Society accredited family mediator, family mediation, collaborative lawyer, family solicitor, agreement facilitator, change agent, dispute minimiser expert, Ipswich, Suffolk, family mediation support counsellor, in-court mediator, MIAMs trained mediator, round-table specialist, expert negotiator, interest negotiation techniques, ADR specialist, settlement lawyer, non-adversarial lawyer, divorce mediator, children mediator, parenting mediator, multidisciplinary specialist, co-mediator, interdisciplinary professional, family mediator, collaborative practitioner, collaborative family lawyer, dispute avoidance expert. Show less

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  The College of Law

  Oct 2008 - Apr 2012

  I mentored students studying law. It was a great opportunity to provide expertise and guidance to those who were thinking of embarking on a career in law. I have been a student mentor at the College of Law since 2008. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to provide guidance and support to those embarking on a career in law.

  • Student mentor

    Oct 2008 - Apr 2012

  • student mentor

    Oct 2008 - Oct 2011
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  Suffolk Family Justice Board

  Feb 2009 - now

  Mediator representative

  I originally joined when it was the Suffolk Family Justice Board. Since 2011 it has taken a slightly different form. The aim of the board is to help improve the outcomes to those who use the local family justice system. I see my role as helping stakeholders understand how mediation can help throughout the justice system.

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  Family Mediators and Collaborative Practitioners in England & Wales LinkedIn group

  May 2009 - Jun 2015

  Owner

  I started this group in 2009 because I wanted somewhere to exchange ideas and thoughts about ADR with others.

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  Resolution

  May 2009 - May 2014

  Parenting After Parting National Committee

  This a national Resolution committee.

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  International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP)

  Oct 2009 - Jun 2013

  Member

  I was a member for two years. I decided to rest it this year, my first in practise on my own, for budgetary reasons!

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  Suffolk Domestic Abuse Forum

  Feb 2010 - Jan 2013

  I joined the forum in late 2011 as the first ever family law practitioner representative. This rather extraordinary fact has only encouraged me to work harder to create greater multidisciplinary awareness throughout the family law community in my region and across the country. I joined the forum in late 2011 as the first ever family law practitioner representative. This rather extraordinary fact has only encouraged me to work harder to create greater multidisciplinary awareness throughout the family law community in my region and across the country.

  • Member

    Feb 2010 - Jan 2013

  • Member

    Feb 2010 - Jan 2013
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  Collaborative Law & ADR Podcast

  May 2010 - Oct 2011

  Co-host

  A fortnightly progamme aimed at professionals working in the area of family ADR practice. Co-hosted by Neil Denny and me, we take a look at any developments in ADR practice, consider what's being said about ADR practice in social media and interview guests who have something interesting to say about ADR practice. Guests so far have included the internationally known parenting expert, Christina McGhee, collaborative practice superstar, Ron Ousky and training giant, Duane Plant.

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  Pathways

  Aug 2010 - Jan 2014

  Practice Group Liaison Officer

  New collaborative DR interdisciplinary practice group. In Suffolk, Cambridge & Essex. So far.

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  Anderson Mediation Training

  Jun 2011 - Dec 2015

  Interdisciplinary family conflict resolution trainer

  I have run workshops and presentations at:Manchester Collaborative Practice Group 2011Resolution ADR Conference 2011Reading Collaborative Practice Group 2012Leicestershire Family Justice Board Conference 2013International Conference on Access to Justice 2014Online DR Manchester 2014College of Mediators Conference 2014Family Mediators Association Conference 2014Resolution's DR Conference 2014Northern Lights Conference 2014Online Mediation London 2014CIArb 7th Mediation Symposium 2014College of Mediators Annual Conference 2015Family Mediators Association Conference 2015 Show less

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  Start Mediation Ltd

  Mar 2012 - now

  As a PPC, I provide support, training, continuing education and professional accountability, through quality control, for other family mediators. If you would like to talk to me in confidence about your PPC needs, please contact me via Linkedin.

  • Mediator

    May 2009 - now

  • Professional Practice Consultant

    Mar 2012 - now
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  Anderson Mediation

  Nov 2012 - Dec 2016

  Mediator

  Professional mediator who motivates people and helps them to to discuss their problems.

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  College Of Mediators

  Apr 2016 - Jul 2020

  Director