A Civil, Commercial and Workplace Mediation provider Mediation1st was founded by Martin Plowman in 2003.

After over fifteen years as the Head of Litigation at a large solicitors' firm, Martin had become convinced of the value of mediation. His own experience as a litigator had also left him in no doubt about what he was looking for from a mediation service:

The ability to find out instantly when the chosen mediator was free.
Transparent fees; no hidden charges for "extra hours", or "preparation time". Or even "travel time" or costs.
Sensible mediation fees, proportionate to the value in dispute.
Most of all, mediation by committed, full time, high quality mediators.
Over two thousand mediations later, we've tried to deliver just that. Our mediators' availability is right here on the Diary & Booking page. We don't charge hidden extras; these mediation fees are what you pay, and not a penny more. 

And as for the quality of our mediators?  Well, we'd like to think that we've delivered there, too, but ultimately the only judges of whether we've done that are those who use our services. We try to be transparent about your views; here's our feedback.  And you might like to know that the independent National Mediator Database ranked mediators nationally based on feedback from lawyers and clients over a period of more than ten years, up until 2023.   Our Senior Mediator, Martin Plowman, was the only mediator in the country to be ranked in the top three mediators nationally for ten consecutive years, occupying the number one spot in the league table for more than half of those years,  Susan Blake achieved a top five ranking, and Richard O'Sullivan was also ranked as an elite commercial mediator.

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