Engagements

When to engage:

Before a conflict has escalated. When a decision is approaching and the stakes are high. When positioning, language, or negotiation strategy needs to be tested before it is used.

Who it serves:

Executives, founders, professionals, and private clients facing a situation where the next move matters disproportionately.

What it looks like:

Advisory engagements typically begin with a single, focused session. Susannah works one-on-one or with a small group to understand the situation, identify the real risks, and build a strategy for what comes next.

This may involve mapping the conflict, pressure-testing decisions, preparing language for a difficult conversation, or developing a negotiation framework. Sessions typically run between one and three hours depending on complexity.

Some clients need a single session to find clarity. Others return as the situation evolves. The engagement is structured around the conflict itself, not a predetermined framework.

What it is not:

This is not open-ended counsel. It is not therapy. It is strategic work with a specific objective: to ensure the client is positioned, prepared, and clear before they act.

When to engage:

When a dispute is real and defined, but formal litigation is not the right path—or not yet the right path. When both parties recognize that resolution is needed and are willing to participate in a structured process.

Who it serves:

Two parties or small groups in conflict—business partners, co-founders, family members with shared business interests, professionals in institutional disputes, or organizations managing internal conflict that requires a neutral third party.

What it looks like:

Susannah begins with confidential intake conversations with each party to understand their perspective, concerns, and objectives. This is not a formality—it shapes how the process is designed.

The facilitation itself is a structured session, typically a half day or full day, where Susannah guides the parties through the dispute toward resolution. The process is private, direct, and outcome-focused. There are no audiences, no public filings, and no procedural theatre.

Susannah controls the pace and structure of the conversation. She may work with both parties together, meet with each side separately, or move between the two depending on what the dispute requires. The goal is a resolution both parties can commit to, reached through a process designed to preserve dignity and confidentiality.

In some cases, counsel may be involved. In others, the parties work directly with Susannah. The format adapts to the situation.

What it is not:

This is not informal conversation or shuttle diplomacy. It is a structured intervention with clear objectives, managed by someone with the legal training and process discipline to hold the room.

When to engage:

When a dispute is formal, counsel is involved, and the matter requires a disciplined, neutral process to move toward resolution. Mediation is appropriate for active litigation, pre-litigation disputes with legal exposure, and complex multi-party matters.

Who it serves:

Counsel and their clients in complex civil disputes—primarily in healthcare, professional negligence, institutional abuse, and class action contexts.

What it looks like:

Mediation begins well before the session itself. Susannah reviews all materials in advance and expects thorough preparation from counsel. Pre-mediation calls with each side are standard—they establish the landscape, identify barriers to resolution, and allow Susannah to assess where movement is possible.

The mediation day is typically a full day. Depending on the case, Susannah opens with a joint session to set the framework, then moves into private caucuses with each party. She works strategically—reframing risk, testing positions, and surfacing interests that may not yet have been articulated—to build momentum toward settlement.

She is direct with counsel and respectful with clients. She does not apply artificial pressure or manufacture urgency. Resolution is built through preparation, clarity, and a process that both sides can trust.

Mediation work is conducted through Hendler Mediation.

What it is not:

This is not evaluative arbitration. Susannah does not impose outcomes. She facilitates a process through which the parties reach their own resolution—informed by her understanding of the law, the dynamics at play, and the real risks each side is carrying.