Progressive Dispute Resolutions

About Phillip

Phillip has co-owned and run businesses for forty years. The journey to Phillip becoming an accredited mediator arose from his own extensive experiences, being directly involved in mediations and litigation, which were “all-consuming, arduous and life influencing”.

The benefits of such hindsight are invaluable, which is why Phillip decided to use those experiences, to help others resolve their disagreements.

Although Mediation is becoming a more prevalent step in the litigation process, it should also be sufficiently detached from the technical legal issues, in order to offer a fresh perspective. Whilst it is important to understand the judicial process, if you want to avoid the enormous costs and uncertainty of trial, then an experienced commercial approach is required.

Phillip’s background has helped him to recognise and develop a three-tier mediation technique.

Tier 1: An informed focus on the specific technical & commercial aspects in dispute.

Tier 2: A visceral understanding of the parties and their respective positions.

Tier 3: Helping the parties understand what is in their own best interests.

If at all possible you/or your clients should stay in control because the alternative is a legal process where justice, as determined by the rule of law, can often be profoundly different to expectations.

Above all else, a Mediator should have extensive commercial knowledge and enlightened people skills.

In Phillip’s experience it can often be basic misunderstandings, triggered by very powerful emotions, that become more of an obstacle to the solution than the headline points. It is how the Mediator navigates through all of this that becomes part of the critical pathway to settlement.

This is where years of business experience is invaluable and why, at PDR, we really do understand conflict and how to become a proactive part of the resolution process.

Roger Levitt LLB QDR MCIArb - Consultant

We are delighted to welcome Roger Levitt as a consultant to the business.

Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council & Board Member

Roger is a qualified solicitor since 1984 (non practicing since 2018) and ranked as a Leading Mediator by legal 500 2025. Roger is highly experienced and respected throughout the industry, with affiliations to CEDR (on their panel) and several other bodies, he is at the forefront of the mediation profession, helping to ensure standards and to progress Mediation Services as a viable alternative and/or one that is complimentary to litigation as an integrated part of the Civil Procedure Rules.

WHY PDR ?

Roger comments: In my role as a mediator, I often task myself with "blue sky" thinking, in order to ensure that mediation practices remain relevant and fit for purpose. It is common knowledge that the Civil Justice system in the UK is under enormous pressure and judges are increasingly ordering mediation as a method by which to settle disputes, without the enormous time and cost implications of a trial.

On meeting with Phillip at PDR, I was struck by how their own experiences and perceptions of mediation complimented my own thinking, despite our diverse backgrounds.

What soon became apparent, is that despite my own career, as a professional in Mediation and Law, alongside Phillip and Richard's experiences in business and managing difficult and complex disputes, we were all asking the same questions from different sides of the table.

The common denominator was our shared belief that Mediation can and should contribute more to the dispute resolution process.

Part of my own journey now, is not just to promote the benefits of mediation but also to inform, and be part of the Mediation Service evolution.

My consultancy arrangement with PDR is therefore a natural, close collaboration of complementary skill sets, as PDR introduces progressive techniques for effective dispute resolution. At the same time to bring a greater awareness and understanding of how mediation practices can work, leading to a sustainable rise in confidence and change of perception, so that Mediation should not just be seen as Alternative Dispute Resolution, but the 'Alternative' can disappear and mediation can become the preferred choice where it is in the best of interests of all parties.

Phillip Wallis

About Phillip

Roger Levitt LLB QDR MCIArb - Consultant

Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council & Board Member

WHY PDR ?