Professional background and experience:

Felicity comes from a business and industrial relations background. She has worked in companies, including the Premier Group in South Africa, and in dispute resolution organisations such as the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa (IMSSA), the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and the Centre for Effective Dispute resolution (CEDR).

She has worked as an independent mediator for more than 30 years. She was first accredited as a mediator in 1989 by IMSSA, and then in 2003 by CEDR in the UK. She has also been trained as a senior conciliator with the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (UK) and is an ILM Qualified Workplace Mediator. She is DiSAC Accredited and also Certified by the International Mediation Institute. She is a fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and of the Civil Mediation Council.

Felicity is currently Head of Faculty of the CEDR Mediator Skills Training course. She is also a Director at Conflict Dynamics in South Africa. She works internationally, and in South Africa. She has a BA Hons. from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MA in Industrial Relations from the University of Warwick. She has also completed a Certificate in Industrial Relations and a Higher Diploma in Labour Law, both at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Felicity has written extensively in the dispute resolution field, including as co-author with John Brand and Chris Todd: Commercial Mediation: A User’s Guide. This is a comprehensive overview of commercial mediation in South Africa and provides a practical guide for mediators and parties, and their representatives, on what to expect from mediation and how to get the most out of the process.

Mediation experience and style:

Felicity mediates a range of disputes including commercial, employment, workplace, and labour disputes independently and through Conflict Dynamics, CEDR, and Oxford Mediation. She is a mediator on the Court of Appeal Panel of Mediators in the UK. She has conducted mediations in a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors. Felicity has a high settlement rate with most mediations resulting in a settlement on the day.

Facilitation experience and style:

Felicity has facilitated processes with teams as small as four or five people, as well as with groups of up to eighty people. Whether small or large, the aim is the same: to enhance performance through effective team relationships. She has conducted relationship-building processes with groups as diverse as firefighters in Harrisonburg Virginia USA, and managers and shop stewards at Mercedes Benz in East London South Africa.

Coaching experience and style:

Felicity has worked with individuals and teams entering negotiation and mediation, coaching them in their preparation for the process and then guiding them as the process unfolds. Her extensive training experience and her negotiation and mediation experience stand her in good stead in offering practical guidance and support.

Comments from clients:

"Thank you for your outstanding management of our process."

“I would highly recommend Felicity to anyone looking for an effective, professional, and tailored mediation service. Felicity ensured she thoroughly understood the reasons why mediation was being requested before the process and following the process, both sides provided only positive feedback on the experience and Felicity herself. The outcomes of the mediation with Felicity have continued well past the meetings themselves and resulted in tangible relationship and hence business improvements.” (February 2020)

“Ms. Steadman has the ability, which frankly cannot be taught, to engage with both lay clients such as mine (three Japanese chefs) and corporate officers (also Japanese) on the opposing side and put both at their ease and be confident that she understood and would weigh carefully their main points. Ms. Steadman has an impressive knowledge of employment law and is up to date with both cases and rules and materials. She has the ability to master a large hearing bundle in a limited time and refer confidently to the papers even when, as in my case, I found myself putting statements and documents in late (the night before the hearing) but Ms. Steadman seemed unphased and thankfully uncritical of me in front of my clients and had clearly taken the trouble to read my late papers overnight or very early morning. The hearing was booked for a fixed time and I felt Ms. Steadman kept a careful eye on the clock and kept both advocates to the point to manage the time carefully and keep a focus making sure that both sides had time to fully ventilate their best points but not to repeat them. She has the good judicial habit of telling counsel when she had got the point and could move on with their argument. Steadman’s obvious skill as a mediator will no doubt lead to her being highly sought after and successful in that field.” Claimant Barrister (February 2019)