The people that help you get to resolution

Nina Harding has worked as a full-time mediator and facilitator for over twenty years and mediated over two thousand disputes.

Margaret established Halsmith Dispute Resolution (HDR) in 1996 as her specialist dispute resolution practice. Margaret came to Dispute Resolution after a career in psychology and education which informs her uniquely effective approach to her practice. From 1996 to 2017, Margaret mediated full time. During 2018 Margaret shifted into providing online Professional Development including supervision, coaching, mentoring, mini workshops and more for experienced and for new practitioners throughout Australia and New Zealand. Based in Perth, HDR practiced state-wide from Esperance to Kununurra as well as interstate and overseas. Margaret is widely acknowledged as being among Australia’s foremost mediators. For over 20 years Margaret has mediated full time, enthusiastically providing best practice Mediation, including Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) for two to 30 participants. She is now passing her expertise on to the mediation community. Margaret also consults in complaints and conflict management and dispute system design to organisations from all sectors of business and government.

Franca is an experienced, efficient, empathic and effective mediator. She has been operating Dispute Management Services (DMS) since 1995, providing a range of services to individuals and organizations (including companies, partnerships, universities, hospitals, government departments, local councils, churches and schools).

The aim of DMS is to widen the range of effective choices available to people and organizations dealing with conflict and to assist individuals and organizations to access services most appropriate to their situation. The intention is to manage conflict in a way that restores collaboration and respect, and, in the context of the workplace, that supports sustainable and productive work environments able to harness the potential of a diverse workforce.

Peter is a Masters Graduate in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Latrobe University and is a Nationally Accredited Mediator. He has a Business background having built an Australia-wide HR professional services company employing over 100 employees and over 300 sub-contractors. Today he runs his consultancy group, Bond National, consulting to parties on the art and practice of negotiation for best outcomes, consulting to individuals, organisations, court disputants and their counsel. He is based in Melbourne and travels widely for work and pursuing his professional development credits. He also pursues photography and music with a passion.

David specialises in conflict management and constructive communication, and facilitates high performance outcomes for workgroups and executive teams. He is currently an associate at La Trobe University School of Law, and has previously taught and published with multiple universities in history, politics and law.

David co-founded Transformative Justice Australia, and is President of the Victorian Association for Restorative justice. David’s past work has inspired David Williamson’s Jack Manning Trilogy of plays, and Michael Rymer’s award–winning film Face to Face.

Having conducted more than 8,000 mediations, Tim McFarlane is highly respected within the Australian legal profession for his commercially focused, practical and balanced approach to conflict resolution. Tim’s extensive and varied expertise has been developed over 37 years whilst employed at, and as a partner in, a number of law firms. Tim has been an Accredited Specialist in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) since 1993.

During his career, David has assisted both local and overseas companies to resolve issues relating to competition and consumer law, in liaising with the ACCC and other regulators, and in resolving disputes outside the traditional court system.

David seeks to apply, for the benefit of clients, his experience, background in, and knowledge of competition and consumer law from an in house perspective as former in house counsel at IBM , Director of Government Relations, from a regulator perspective as a Commissioner at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and as a practicing lawyer and as a mediator to resolve issues in a manner that enhances relationships.

Delwyn Everard is a lawyer and arts advocate. She has worked with artists and arts organisations for the last 15 years and was the deputy director of the Arts Law Centre of Australia for 10 years. She has worked extensively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities and their community art centres and on many significant cross platform art projects and public art commissions. She is on the board of the Art Month Sydney Festival.

Lynora Brooke has extensive experience working with chief executive, senior leaders and middle management in the public and private sectors in Australia and overseas.

With over 35 years in business management and consulting, Lynora has strong diverse experience across a broad range of organisations in a number of countries.

Specialties: Business management; artist relations; marketing; talent acquisition; personnel management; event management and promotion.

Michael McMartin has over 40 years experience in the Australian and International Creative Industries dealing with Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Patents, Copyright and Licensing across a wide range of sectors including Music, Film, Photography, Graphic Art, Design and Merchandising.

Steve Lancken is one of Australia’s leading mediators and ADR professionals. He is on a number of pre-eminent dispute panels and from 2008 to 2013 Steve served on the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council (NADRAC) appointed by the Attorney General of Australia, the Honourable Robert McClelland MP. He uses his experience for training in mediation, negotiation, communication and conflict management.

Angela is an accredited mediator under the National Standards and a BarADR approved expert determiner and arbitrator. She is a member of the mediation panels of IP Australia, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Supreme Court of NSW, District Court of NSW, Resolution Institute, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, the dispute resolution panel for APRA AMCOS and the expert panel for Screenrights.

Shirli Kirschner is the principal of Resolve Advisors founded in 1996 to provide dispute resolution services nationally and internationally. Shirli is an accredited mediator and a member of advanced panels of mediators in Australia. She is a visiting fellow at the Law School of UNSW and a sessional Registrar of the Federal Circuits Court. Shirli holds the position of wholesale energy market dispute resolution Adviser and was a member of NADRAC, an advisory committee to the Federal Attorney General on dispute resolution.