Family Mediation Team

Founder

Massy Ellesmere - has been working as a couple and psychodynamic counsellor since 1994 and qualified as a family mediator with ADR in 2009.

Massy founderd the support group Divorce Survival Experts in 2011.

Massy is a natural communicator combining empathy and compassion with a professional and confident style. She achieves the best outcomes in cases where children and complicated finances are involved within matrimonial disputes.

She is a member of Family Mediation Council (FMC) and Family mediation Association (FMA). Massy is an Accredited Family Mediator (FMCA).

Massy is trained in Direct Consultation with children and is therefore able to see children either within a mediation she is conducting, or as a consultant to other mediators or organisations. She also specialises in International Child Relocation and Abduction.

She is a member of the Management Board at Ealing Mediation Service.

Massy enjoys theatre, art, music, cultural exhibitions, travel and scuba diving.

Massy is fluent in Farsi spoken and written.

Email: massy.ellesmere@famia.co.uk

Associate Mediators

David McHardy is uniquely placed to act as a Family Mediator. He has built a reputation for excellence over thirty years practicing as a Family Lawyer and has been Partner at three of London's pre-eminent family law firms.

He is a former Chairman of Resolution, the national association of Family Lawyers, and in 1995, upon invitation, became a Deputy District Judge at the Principal Registry of the Family Division.

He qualified as a Mediator in 2000, and is a member of Mediation Associates, a select group of London-based practitioners who meet regularly for professional practice discussions which shape industry best practice.

Mary Winner has 20 years' experience of family mediation.

From 1994-7 she managed a service of eight mediators in Surrey and introduced “all issues mediation” (i.e. financial as well as children issues) to that service.

She is a member of Family Mediators Association, National Family Mediation and the UK College of Family Mediators and has sat on Committees at national level developing the last two organisations.
 
Mary is also a qualified and experienced supervisor of other mediators and is recognised by the Legal Services Commission to provide mediation to clients funded by them.
 
Mary is a Social Science graduate with an MSc in Social Research.   She also has a Diploma in Psychological Counseling,  however, she describes herself purely as a Mediator.   She has undertaken extensive training in mediation as well as other relevant areas such as Law and Finance.

Austin Chessell - has been working in the family law field since 2005.

He is a qualified Family Solicitor.

Austin trained as a Family Mediator in 2009 at Hertfordshire Family Mediation Service.

He is now working towards obtaining his LSC portfolio.

He is a member of Resolution and the Family Mediators Association.

Austin is involved in charity work in his free time. He is a member of the National Association of Child Contact Centres and works as a volunteer in enabling children of separated families to spend time with their non-resident parents, and maintain family relationships. Austin is also an Honorary Legal Advisor at the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Austin plays football, likes running and cooking new dishes.

Vasili Kapetanakis is an independent social worker and has for the last 11 years been working in the field of children and families in inner city London. Since 2008 Vasili has been instructed as an expert witness in both private and public proceedings involving children to assist all levels of the Court in deciding the applications before it. Increasingly Vasili is involved in divorce cases with high profile clients, involving disputes over residence, contact or re-location, often within an international context.

Vasili recently qualified in family mediation as he believes that this offers parents a less adversarial and more creative approach than Court in which to decide on some, if not all, arrangements involving children following separation or divorce.

Vasili is of Greek origin and born and raised in South Africa. He has a background and interest in the performing arts.

Paula Morvan qualified as a family mediator and has been working on LSC funded cases since 2003. She is a member of NFM and her prior training was as a counsellor specialising in school counselling for 10 years.

Paula is qualified to undertake child consultations and she has worked as a consultant for Cafcas.

Paula presents the Pips and Paps workshops for separated parents. She believes in the benefits of divorce coaching and practises in this field. Paula is a Family Consultant and can support collaborative law cases.

Professional Bodies we belong to

The Family Mediators Association

National Family Mediation

Resolution

The Law Society