Practice Overview

Nikki is an experienced commercial and workplace mediator and a highly accomplished commercial litigator with almost 20 years' experience of dispute resolution and mediation.  She is known for being extremely commercial, tenacious and quick to get to grips with complex cases. Her thorough preparation and flexible approach to the mediation process ensures that each mediation is tailored to the needs of the parties.

Clients comment on her ability to read the room and quickly develop a rapport with all involved, creating a positive environment with her calm professionalism and good humour. She is adept at dealing with a range of personalities and understanding the needs of individuals as well as those of an organisation. 

Professional Background

Over the last 18 years Nikki has worked on a broad variety of litigation. She started her career at Browne Jacobson, in Nottingham before moving to London where she worked at Kingsley Napley and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan before moving to Temple Bright in 2016 to grow her own litigation practice and train as a mediator. In 2023, Nikki joined Howard Kennedy and now splits her time between her commercial litigation practice and her meditation practice.

During her career, Nikki has worked on a broad range of disputes. Whilst her focus in recent years has been on high value commercial disputes, her experience also includes insolvency, medical negligence, shareholder and partnership, education, public liability, professional negligence and social care. Her clients include large multi nationals, PLCs, SMEs, insurers, local authorities and educational establishments as well as individuals within this jurisdiction and elsewhere. Many of her cases have an international element. 

Nikki has extensive court experience and understands first hand what is involved when disputes end up at trial, with victories in both the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division as well as the Court of Appeal. However, her primary focus has always been on achieving commercial, cost effective results for her clients and as a result, she has been a strong advocate of mediation throughout her career. 

Other Experience 

As Vice President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), which has over 3500 members, Nikki helps to shape civil justice reform and promote best practice in litigation. She is widely published in the legal press and has been responsible for the LSLA’s consultation responses on all matters concerning ADR. Nikki also led the recent changes to the ADR section of the Chancery Court Guide, in consultation with the judiciary. 

For the last six years she has been invited as a judge and mediator at the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris and to take part in the International Mediation Roundtable, providing an annual opportunity to meet with leading mediators from across the globe and share learnings and ideas. 

In addition to her commercial and workplace mediation practice, Nikki works pro bono as a mediator for CALM Mediation managing conflicts between residents of local housing authorities across London.  

Endorsements 

“Nikki was calm and collected through a difficult mediation. She was supportive in the face of a difficult stance taken by the opposition, and worked through our pros and cons with a calm and experienced approach. Many thanks for enabling the communication we had not managed for two years.” - Partner, City Law Firm

“Nikki mediated a commercial dispute with very strong feelings on both sides. I was thoroughly impressed by the way in which she helped the parties arrive at a resolution: she was clearly sensitive to the emotional aspects of the case, as well as the legal and practical realities of the situation, and her input was nuanced and well-judged. I would not hesitate to recommend her” – Counsel 

“Nikki was clear on the processes throughout. We had a hostile start to the mediation and Nikki managed that superbly, quickly identified the relevant issues and guided the parties to focus on finding some common grounds and working towards a resolution.” – Solicitor, Regional Firm 

“Nikki was very helpful in a difficult negotiation where no agreement seemed possible. She is incredibly friendly, likeable and brought a positive note to what was a dark and tricky time. Her process was easy, straightforward and well guided and I felt supported throughout the day. With Nikki’s help we were able to reach a fair agreement in a short time and move forward quickly. I highly recommend Nikki for any mediation needs.” – Lay client 

'Nikki is a fast and shrewd reader of people which has several distinct benefits. First, she is adaptable in terms of working with others; second, she knows how to set a tone for a mediation that allows both participants and co-workers to feel comfortable and, finally, she is effective at working with others to facilitate a successful mediation. All in all, Nikki is very easy to work with, and the added bonus is that she is very organised! ' - Co mediator