The CMC Academic Lecture 2026
The CMC Academic Lecture 2026 – Managing Conflict in the Foothills of Potential Disputes
The CMC is delighted to announce its Academic Lecture 2026, delivered in collaboration with UCL’s Centre for Dispute Resolution, continuing a valued relationship as we work to advance the profile of mediation within Higher Education and highlight its vital role in dispute resolution.
About the lecture
This year’s lecture, “Managing Conflict in the Foothills of Potential Disputes”, looks at workplace conflict and how we intervene before disputes escalate, delivered by Felicity Steadman on 12 November at 6pm.
Felicity will explore what it means to move upstream, into the ‘foothills’ of conflict where working relationships can still be preserved, negotiated, and rebuilt, drawing on operational lessons forged in highly volatile workplaces to address the systemic challenges facing the UK dispute landscape today.
About Felicity Steadman
Felicity is a full-time professional in dispute resolution and has worked as an independent mediator for more than 37 years in the UK and South Africa. She mediates employment, workplace and industrial relations disputes, as well as a range of civil and commercial disputes.
Based in the UK, Felicity began her career in South Africa, where she continues to mediate and train mediators through Conflict Dynamics. In 1996, she co-designed the training materials for the first cohort of statutory conciliators in South Africa at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where she was a senior commissioner. She was trained as a senior conciliator by Acas in 1991.
Felicity is an accredited CEDR mediator and panel member, and Head of the CEDR Faculty of mediator trainers. She is a CMC Fellow and IMI Certified, and a founding member of Oxford Mediation. She has published widely on conflict management and dispute resolution.
Programme
17:30 Registration
18:00 Lecture and Q&A
• Introductions by Professor Eloise Scotford, Dean of UCL Laws, and Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho, Chair of the Civil Mediation Council
• Q&A moderated by Dr John Sorabji and Dr Anna Howard
• Closing remarks by Professor David Ormerod KC (Hons)
19:15 Drinks reception
How to attend
This event will be held in person at UCL, with online attendance also available via Zoom. Registration is open now.
