Professional background and experience:

Charlene Labuschagne is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa in Private Practice (LPC 52991). Her formal qualifications include a BSc at the University of Pretoria (UP) (1988); MSc in Nuclear Medicine at UP (1992); a BA degree in Organizational Communications at UNISA (2001), and a LLB degree in Mercantile Law at the University of South Africa (2007). She is a registered mediator involved with the RAF/SAMLA mediation pilot project, as well as the Department of Health (Gauteng)/SAMLA project. She is committed to making justice and fairness a reality. She is an enthusiastic promoter of mediation for resolution of commercial, community and labour disputes. She is a registered Member of the South African Medico-Legal Association (SAMLA) and an accredited mediator with the South African Association of Mediators, Conflict Dynamics as well as the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR UK). She is further involved in the development and promotion of mediation in South Africa. She lives in Nigel, Gauteng Province, but travels nationally to work.

Mediation experience and style:

Charlene has practised as a mediator from the 1990s. At that stage, she was mediating, as the Deputy Director of Communications, North West Province, disputes relating to mine violence, taxi violence and community and industrial action. Recently, she has been doing commercial mediation, workplace mediation, divorce, and family law mediation as well as medico-legal mediations. Her mediation style is mainly facilitative and transformative (but occasionally evaluative, as an expert in the veterinary industry).

Comments from mediation clients:

"Thank you, Charlene, for your patience and empathy in helping us resolve issues pertaining to the dissolution of our company. Your professionalism and business knowledge has facilitated the process to the extent that we feel that a win-win was achieved.” 

"Advocate Charlene mediated a session between myself and my supervisor. Her approach was strict and respectful. We managed to ‘clear the air’ concerning the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.  I would recommend Charlene as a mediator."