About Dove In The Room

Top-Ranked Mediator Julia Burns of Dove in the Room offers a specialist mediation, facilitation and conflict coaching service across all areas of private client and inheritance disputes.

I am known for combining rigorous legal understanding with a high degree of emotional intelligence, and for the depth of preparation I bring to each mediation.

At the root of most inheritance disputes are strong emotions and entrenched narratives which sit beneath the legal positions being advanced. Unlike many mediators, I invest significant time in pre-mediation engagement with clients. I always speak directly with the clients (as well as the lawyers) before a mediation takes place. This allows emotional drivers and underlying dynamics to be identified early, enabling a more focused and effective mediation process on the day.

My approach ensures that clients feel properly heard and understood, creating the best conditions for realistic negotiations.  Feedback from clients and legal advisers confirms that this often results in calmer, shorter and more productive mediations. 

 

About Julia Burns

I am a mediator and experienced lawyer with a strong national reputation. I have significant expertise in resolving disputes for private individuals in the field of contentious trusts and probate. I am known for having a high degree of empathy and emotional intelligence, which are at the heart of what I do for clients and lawyers.

I am the only accredited mediator in the country with a specialist private client mediation qualification. As such, my expertise is not just helping families to resolve an existing dispute through traditional mediation; I also work with families more holistically and on a more long-term basis to facilitate difficult conversations and to build positive family relationships.

About Julia Burns

I am a mediator and experienced lawyer with a strong national reputation. I have significant expertise in resolving disputes for private individuals in the field of contentious trusts and probate. I am known for having a high degree of empathy and emotional intelligence, which are at the heart of what I do for clients and lawyers.

I am the only accredited mediator in the country with a specialist private client mediation qualification. As such, my expertise is not just helping families to resolve an existing dispute through traditional mediation; I also work with individuals and families more holistically and on a more long-term basis to facilitate difficult conversations and to build positive family relationships.

Testimonials

Read all testimonials

Mediation Services

Mediation of Inheritance Disputes

Family disputes that develop after someone has died can be particularly tough because of the inevitable emotion involved. Various legal claims can be brought, and the Court is there as a last resort, but ending up in a full trial will rarely represent true success, even if you win. Most family inheritance disputes are settled out of Court, often by mediation, which works well for family disputes because it is private, quick and more cost effective. Mediation can also provide a chance of family relationships surviving the dispute, if that is desired.

I mediate all types of private client and inheritance disputes from contentious trust and probate disputes to Court of Protection disputes.  I offer both in person and remote mediations. I believe that mediation should be affordable for everyone and my pricing reflects that.

Pre-mediation Coaching for Clients

A successful mediation requires careful planning and preparation. Lawyers will generally look after most of this preparation, but their focus will be on the legal and practical aspects of the day. A mediation can be a daunting and stressful experience for an individual. To achieve the best result, a client also needs to prepare psychologically. It helps to talk to an independent conflict resolution expert who has not been involved in the dispute.

I offer pre-mediation coaching for an upcoming mediation (with another third-party mediator). The purpose of the coaching is to help clients approach the mediation with a healthy mindset, which is likely to produce a constructive negotiation climate. If you attend a mediation in the right frame of mind, this will maximise the chance of a good result.

Pre-mediation Coaching for Clients

A successful mediation requires careful planning and preparation. Lawyers will generally look after most of this preparation, but their focus will be on the legal and practical aspects of the day. A mediation can be a daunting and stressful experience for an individual. To achieve the best result, a client also needs to prepare psychologically. It helps to talk to an independent conflict resolution expert who has not been involved in the dispute.

I offer pre-mediation coaching for an upcoming mediation (with another third-party mediator). The purpose of the coaching is to help clients approach the mediation with a healthy mindset, which is likely to produce a constructive negotiation climate. If you attend a mediation in the right frame of mind, this will maximise the chance of a good result.

Remote Mediation

For family inheritance disputes, remote mediation offers clients a more relaxed and private way to resolve their dispute. For many clients, physically attending a mediation with family members they have fallen out with is a very daunting feeling. The thought of bumping into certain family members before, after or during the mediation, can cause sleepless nights. Those anxieties fall away by using confidential virtual breakout rooms.

Remote mediation also represents a considerable cost saving. With no travel costs and hotel bills to pay for everyone involved, clients can save a significant amount of money. Arranging the logistics of a mediation can be time consuming and sometimes contentious. These hidden costs of mediation can mount up. Remote mediation also provides a level playing field with no feeling of the hosting party having a “home advantage”. A remote mediation allows clients to deal with their personal conflict in the comfort of their chosen space.

Going virtual is also more personal than you would imagine. For many clients saying how you feel into a camera is less intense than sitting around a table. Overall, it can be a calming, empowering and undoubtedly effective way of negotiating and resolving disputes.

I offer free demonstrations of the Zoom technology and am always on the end of the telephone should you wish to ask me any questions about remote mediation.

Facilitation and Conflict Coaching

Facilitation of Sensitive Conversations Around Succession and Inheritance

When a family falls out, it’s tough for everyone. If the dispute is not handled carefully, it can lead to serious relationship breakdown. When life gets complicated, it’s easier to do nothing, but that can leave behind a legacy of pain, suffering and costs. In certain situations, and with the right help, families can resolve their differences and reconcile before it’s too late. I helps families to diagnose and treat the root of the problem with a view to avoiding escalation into high conflict.

As a certified CEDR private client mediator, I offer facilitation and coaching to help families avoid or resolve family conflict.  

I help family members have difficult conversations involving sensitive issues such as money or inheritance.  As a lawyer myself, I am well placed to identify the legal needs of a family so that they can make appropriate succession plans. Sometimes needs will go deeper, and a more holistic approach will be required. I have developed a network of people I trust from a range of professional backgrounds to whom I can refer individual family members if they need more help.

 

Family Conflict Coaching

When a family falls out, it’s tough for everyone. If the dispute is not handled carefully, it can lead to serious relationship breakdown. When life gets complicated, it’s easier to do nothing, but that can leave behind a legacy of pain, suffering and costs. In certain situations, and with the right help, families can resolve their differences and reconcile before it’s too late. Dove in the Room helps families to diagnose and treat the root of the problem with a view to avoiding escalation into high conflict.

As a certified CEDR private client mediator, I offer coaching to help families avoid or resolve family conflict. I also help family members to have difficult conversations involving sensitive issues such as money or inheritance.  As a lawyer myself, I am well placed to identify the legal needs of a family so that they can make effective and workable succession plans. Sometimes their needs will go deeper, and a more holistic approach will be required. For families or individual family members who need more help, I have developed a network of people I trust from a range of professional backgrounds to whom I can refer individual family members.

Family Businesses 

Being in business with family members is rewarding, but it can be complicated. Maintaining healthy personal and professional relationships is vital. This is especially important within the context of a family business where conflict could affect its viability. If personal relationship difficulties arise, they need to be addressed carefully and quickly, preferably before they escalate into high conflict. Whilst it is hard to face difficult conversations, on the other side there lies positive progress.

Sometimes it can assist to involve a conflict resolution expert to help facilitate a difficult conversation or resolve a dispute. This could include facilitating a family or board meeting as a neutral third party. 

Conflict Awareness Training

Disagreements between business partners are inevitable. Whilst they can be difficult, differences of opinion often pave the way for arriving at the best possible solutions. Learning to manage different perspectives is a key skill in any business. As conflict can affect the viability of a family business, it is well worth investing in ensuring that you have the right culture and dynamics in place.

If you want to ensure your business has a healthy approach to differing opinions and conflict, you may want to take a more pro-active approach and consider conflict awareness training. I can help you to understand conflict; its causes and the different ways that people approach it, so that when disputes arise in the future, you can tackle them yourself in a positive way.

Conflict Awareness Training

Disagreements between business partners are inevitable. Whilst they can be difficult, differences of opinion often pave the way for arriving at the best possible solutions. Learning to manage different perspectives is a key skill in any business. As conflict can affect the viability of a family business, it is well worth investing in ensuring that you have the right culture and dynamics in place.

If you want to ensure your business has a healthy approach to differing opinions and conflict, you may want to take a more pro-active approach and consider conflict awareness training. I can help you to understand conflict; its causes and the different ways that people approach it, so that when disputes arise in the future, you can tackle them yourself in a positive way.

Blog

Keep an eye on my blog for my latest news and insights on family conflict.

Go to Blog
Top 10 Reasons Trust and Probate Mediations Fail

Of the 130 mediations I have conducted over the last 5 years, 112 have settled.  ...

23
Dec
Shifting Perspectives: Lessons from Hospital Isolation for Conflict Resolution

Normally I start January with a sense of renewed energy. I often make a vision ...

18
Jan
“Automatic mediation? Are we on the brink of a sea change?”

“I predict that compulsory mediation will spread to a place near you before very long”.  ...

07
Nov
What is family conflict coaching?

As a mediator, I regularly encounter difficult family conflicts which come to me when they ...

13
Oct
What’s my mediation style? Empathetic provocateur.

I am often asked what my mediation style is. In this blog I describe my ...

06
Sep
10 Tips For Trust & Probate Mediation Success

Contentious trust and probate disputes are tough to resolve because of the emotion and psychology ...

05
Apr
How to write an impeccable mediation statement

I categorise mediation statements as the good, the bad and the ugly.  I am often ...

13
Jan
Christmas Message
Reflections on 2020 from Dove in the Room

On Friday I concluded my final mediation of 2020; a heart-warming settlement with genuinely happy ...

21
Dec

Contact me

Telephone:
+447989977371

Email:
juliaburns@doveintheroom.com

Connect with me:

Memberships