lecture at Bermuda College's North Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, October 4 starting at 6.00 p.m. The lecture is sponsored by the Faculty of Adult and Continuing Education at the Bermuda College and will address the issue of conflicts.

The lecture is being given by experienced trial lawyer and practicing mediator, Keren Lomas, president of Bercorp Ltd. and her associate, David Fountain, a corporate trust lawyer and international mediator. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Mediation is gaining increasing popularity as a means to resolve disputes. But it is still a relatively unknown and little understood process.

Most people, when facing a dispute -- whether a commercial dispute, family conflict such as a divorce or custody battle or community dispute -- tend to pursue the traditional option or resolving it through the courts. They do that simply because they are unaware of the availability of any other type of resolution process.

Litigation is generally time-consuming and expensive. Furthermore, because it is adversarial in nature, it is not always the best way to resolve conflicts, particularly in such a small community as Bermuda.

No one appreciates this more than Ms Lomas and Mr. Fountain of Bercorp Ltd, two highly experienced attorneys who have developed a new practice specialising in the provision of mediation and arbitration services for clients whose interests can be better served by such alternative conflict resolution procedures than by arbitration.

The lecture at the Bermuda College will outline how an individual or corporation can help to understand the mediation process and make a more informed decision as to which procedure will best meet their needs. It will include a comprehensive overview of what mediation is all about and demonstrate, using genuine case study examples, how Bermudians can benefit from using mediation services.

The lecture, to be followed by a question and answer session, will provide examples of how mediation can solve disputes with the minimum of aggravation.

It will also show how it is a much cheaper and considerably faster process than litigation and how you can achieve results which satisfy all parties involved.

Bercorp Ltd. specialises in commercial mediation and arbitration, workplace disputes, divorce and family mediation, and providing consultancy services to local and international companies on such matters as employment contracts and management policy decisions affecting employer/employee relations.

For further information contact Dawn Darrell, Faculty of Adult and Continuing Education at Bermuda College at 236-9000, ext. 4375. To arrange an interview, call Liz Mason at AdVantage at 295-6900.