Tim McFarlane

Mobile: 0409 965 610
Email: tim@mcfarlanelegal.com.au

“Great mediation means the parties leave equally satisfied and relieved.”

 

Having conducted more than 8,000 mediations, Tim McFarlane is highly respected within the Australian legal profession for his commercially focused, practical and balanced approach to conflict resolution. Tim’s extensive and varied expertise has been developed over 37 years whilst employed at, and as a partner in, a number of law firms. Tim has been an Accredited Specialist in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) since 1993.

Tim was an inaugural director of the national Mediator Standards Board and is a member of a number of mediation committees across Australia, Asia and Europe, including the ADR Committee of the Law Council of Australia and a panel member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland and a Certified Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Institute. Tim has presented on ADR locally, interstate and overseas and written extensively on mediation. He also conducts private mediation training courses for law firms, universities and various other organisations both in Australia and overseas.

Tim brings a wealth of real world experience, legal knowledge and an outcome focused proactive attitude to the parties, when acting as a mediator or facilitator for parties in conflict. Tim is particularly passionate about mediation, ensuring the parties feel heard, understood and satisfied with their settlement. His relaxed nature makes discussion, engagement and negotiation as seamless as possible.

Tim is listed in various guides to expert practitioners, including Doyle’s Guide as a Recommended Mediator, and after being the first Victorian listed in the London publication of Who’s Who Legal: Mediation has been consistently listed every year.
He was the winner of the LIV Accredited Specialist Achievement Award in 2014.

Sharan Safe

Mobile: 0409 425 855
Email: sharansafe@mcfarlanelegal.com.au

“Great mediations are when parties are empowered to make their own decisions, recognising the importance of compromise, and achieving certainty.”

Sharan is an experienced mediator with a history of resolving the majority of matters she has mediated.  Her mediation practice extends across all categories of commercial disputes, including banking and finance, corporate restructuring, general commercial litigation and other areas including construction disputes, franchising disputes, testator family maintenance matters, total and permanent disability claims and personal injury matters.

Sharan is also a Sessional Ombudsman at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, is a mediator panel member of the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority, a member of the Law Institute of Victoria Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and a mediator for the New South Wales Farm Debt Mediation Panel.

Prior to embarking on her mediation practice, Sharan practiced as a lawyer for over 20 years, specializing in commercial litigation, dispute resolution, insolvency and banking and finance. During her career she held senior positions at major law firms and financial institutions including Gadens Lawyers, HWL Ebsworth, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

Michael Tehan

Mobile: 0411 468 468
Email: michaeltehan@mcfarlanelegal.com.au

“Great mediation achieves results which do not necessarily require that one side wins and one loses.”

Michael Tehan is a nationally accredited mediator, practising exclusively in this field. His work follows a long career as a lawyer and partner of Minter Ellison. This experience, together with his background as a senior public servant and a union official, gave him opportunities to work on highly complex matters for a wide range of clients including the Victorian Government and Australia Post.

Michael’s involvement in many difficult disputes during his career meant that he ran cases in all Victorian and Federal Courts, including the High Court. As a solicitor he appeared in numerous mediations, noting many cases where independent third party intervention did lead to the early resolution of a dispute. Among many lessons he learned, he saw that, on some occasions, a decision at trial led to new issues or unintended consequences.

Conscious of the intense strain involved on all parties when litigation is threatened or taking
place, Michael joined McFarlane Legal with a great belief in the benefit of the safety of the mediation environment. Recognising that personal factors can sometimes hinder what might be seen as a sensible resolution, in his role as mediator he seeks to remove some of the tension and to ensure each party is carefully listened to and has had all issues and circumstances fully explained to them.

When he was practising as a litigator, Michael was consistently listed as a leading lawyer in his fields in Best Lawyers, Doyle’s Guide and Chambers.

Michael’s roles outside the law have included directorships at Rest Super (which administers more than $80 billion of superannuation for 2 million members), Villa Maria Catholic Homes (a large aged care and disability services provider), chairing his local pre-school, membership of School Council at a large girls’ school and various committees in the Law and Commerce faculties at The University of Melbourne.