Mark Hebblewhite now focuses exclusively on mediations. Mark first trained as a mediator in 1987 when he was admitted into practice. Since this time, Mark has actively participated in the development of mediation practice in Australia. His experience is extensive and includes:

• as a practising Mediator conducting in excess of 2,500 mediations
• as a course presenter giving hundreds of participants – including many lawyers – training towards their accreditation as mediators
• as a coach and assessor for accreditation courses presented by Bond University
• as a consultant to Victoria Legal Aid in the development of the Round Table Dispute Management (RDM) program
• as an accredited Advanced Mediator at the Victorian Bar
• as a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner who is active in the development and promotion of FDR by private FDR practitioners.

Mark is a Barrister who combines legal practice with extensive mediation work referred by organisations, various Federal and State Courts and by clients directly.

He is a panel mediator pursuant to both the Franchise Code and the Oil Industry Code, a gazetted mediator pursuant to section 21K of the Evidence Act 1958 (Vic), is an active RDM conference chairperson and has been a panel mediator at Relationships Australia for more than 20 years. He has also been a panel mediator at VCAT and for the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (Vic).

His 20 years of extensive and varied mediation work, together with his negotiation and legal practice experience, has given Mark a broad practical background in dispute resolution.

In his mediation work he has developed special expertise in the following areas:

• Mediating disputes where emotions run high, e.g. contractual disputes and property and parenting agreements following the breakdown of family relationships, defacto property, workplace, probate/TFM, family farming, business and professional partnership, and bank/client disputes
• Mediation in the ‘shadow of court proceedings’ - i.e. with legal issues pleaded and the Court processes underway
• Confidential interpersonal mediations
• Mediations between parties who have an interest in maintaining personal, family or work relationships while seeking a resolution to their dispute
• Mediating agreements between prospective partners, whether it be pre-nuptial or cohabitation agreements, business, contractual or professional partnership negotiations.

Mark is an elected Director of the Mediators Standards Board (MSB).