About Mediation

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that finds concrete solutions to legal disputes without litigation. During the mediation process, the two conflicting parties meet with a neutral third party or mediator. The mediator facilitates communication between the conflicting parties in order to resolve the dispute and possibly negotiate a settlement.

Staffed by trained mediators and headed by Nigel Chapman, a solicitor and mediator with over 30 years of experience with legal disputes, Winsby Leyburn offers a bespoke service in representing clients in the mediation process, regardless of the nature of the dispute.

While some solicitors try to represent appropriately at mediations, most approach it as if it’s a court case. Or, even worse, they lack the necessary training that mediation requires, thus failing to grasp the nuances of the cases and resulting in an unsustainable settlement. Some even subconsciously skew the results to spark litigation, increasing their fee in the process. The mediation process at Winsby Leyburn is constantly focused on reaching a resolution that considers all parties’ issues equally.

We understand that mediation may seem stressful, or that maybe you don’t want to be face-to-face with someone with whom you have a conflict. In such cases, as well as those that involve parties in separate cities, we offer Zoom audio and video conferences. In addition to allowing participants to engage no matter where they are in the world, Zoom lets us mute and unmute individual lines to faciliate more efficient and consistent one-on-one consultancy throughout the process, and all with complete privacy and confidentiality.

Winsby Leyburn approaches each case uniquely, customising strategies that lead to a fairer, faster, and more agreeable solution for all.

In addition to facilitating mediation itself, our mediators also represent clients in outside mediations to help avert an approach to litigation that is adversarial and to secure a more harmonious path moving forward. Simply call us or have your solicitor do so, and we can lend a hand—and an ear—whenever you need us.

In the rare cases that mediation fails to reach a resolution, the process moves from a facilitative experience to evaluative, in which mediators act as a judge or arbitrator. Privately we will meet with both sides to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases, advising on the costs and benefits of pursuing further legal action and, if needed, making formal or informal recommendations on how to move forward. As trained lawyers, we’re well versed in case law and precedent and are fully prepared to affirm resolutions comparable to court decisions.

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Our People

Nigel Chapman, Founder

An accredited mediator and solicitor who serves in the Association of Midland Mediators and the Civil Mediation Council, Nigel Chapman’s career began in 1982 as an assistant solicitor for RS Bull and Co., close to William Shakespeare’s birthplace in Warwickshire. Until recently, Chapman acted as Civil Servant lawyer-manager for HM Government.

Throughout his career, Chapman’s passions have been “outside the box” problem solving, interfaith issues, and equality and diversity, all with a firm belief in deploying different mediation methods at varying stages to avert failure and prevent impasse.

Laurence Chapman, Director and Assistant Mediator

A student of law with a background in information technology, internet based marketplace, and social media, Laurence Chapman is an assistant mediator and director at Winsby Leyburn Ltd.

In addition to his social media background, Chapman has experience working within the music industry. He’s developed an online business coordinating artist promoters and record companies and has been instrumental in facilitating numerous song recordings.

Mike Fleetham, Learning Designer & ILM Qualified Executive Coach

A learning and thinking consultant, ILM qualified executive coach, and author, Mike Fleetham uses his interdisciplinary skills to support professionals in making their work more effective, more relevant and more enjoyable. He’s particularly adept at executive level coaching and mentoring, organisational coaching, training for creative and critical thinking, as well as training for effective problem solving and video coaching for improved public speaking and/or appearances.

Since 2001, he has been managing director of Thinking Classroom, an organisation that supports teachers, learners and leaders around the UK and abroad to accelerate their performance and have greater impact.

Bethany Clifford, Executive Assistant

With a speciality in financial services and accountancy, executive assistant Bethany Clifford offers her invaluable knowledge in all matters related to taxation and other fiduciary mediations. She also supports the contractual and commercial disputes.

Bethany has worked for one of the largest accountant and financial advisors in the English Midlands and is currently engaged in projects within the Business and Law school at Leicester’s De Montfort University.

Mukesh Basra, Senior Consultant

A highly experienced solicitor with excellent qualifications and an exceptional performance record in the field of mediation, Mukesh Basra holds a Master of Laws in Advanced Litigation and Dispute Resolution from Nottingham Trent University. Adept at civil and commercial litigation, as well, Basra draws on his considerable expertise to settle discords as swiftly and amicably as possible.

When not helping bring people together, Basra enjoys renovating properties throughout Leicestershire.

A Family History

Originally from Winceby in Lincolnshire, the Winsby family moved to Wensley in Wensleydale in the 1640s, where the earliest records found in the churchyard date to 1665.

Later, in 1715, the family relocated once again to Leyburn, where they began working as cabinet makers and furnishing dealers, a business in which they excelled and continued to operate for centuries, until 2004. An 1838 work by Thomas Winsby and a circa 1970 piece from John Winsby are still housed at the Wensleydale Museum in Hawes.

Though the current Lord of the Manor of Leyburn, Nigel Chapman, appreciates the family’s woodworking history, he went in a different direction by becoming a solicitor and then a mediator, a career that’s spanned three decades. He’s also happy that his son Laurence and his cousin Mike have joined the field.

While they are the last of the direct Leyburn line, related branches are found in London and Southampton, as well as in Buenos Aires, California, and Chicago, where cousin Debbie Frakes runs Winsby Inc.

Contact

Nigel Chapman (The Lord of Leyburn) – Winsby (Leyburn) Ltd.
Millers Barn, Hall Lane, Bitteswell, Lutterworth
Leicestershire LE17 4 LN
Reception HQ on 08455 085772
01455 558692
07746397814