CEDR

Commercial Mediation

Mandy Lenton is a full-time commercial mediator known for resolving complex disputes with clarity, calm authority, and insight.  Mandy’s mediation practice spans a wide range of commercial disputes, with particular depth in real estate, professional negligence, and high-value contractual matters. She is regularly instructed in cases involving multiple parties, emotionally charged dynamics, and sensitive matters where commercial pressure, reputational risk, or strained relationships need careful handling.

Her clients include FTSE 100 companies, government bodies, family businesses, and private individuals - and she is equally at home facilitating pragmatic, boardroom-level settlements as she is supporting small businesses or high-net-worth individuals navigating breakdown or loss.

Mandy is frequently asked to mediate disputes that require not only technical competence but also presence, empathy, and the ability to adapt to complex interpersonal and commercial dynamics. She is known for her ability to unlock deadlock in entrenched matters, and for creating the kind of environment where participants can think clearly under pressure - whether the context is contractual breakdown, misrepresentation, professional negligence, or commercial fallouts within families or partnerships.

Her casework includes disputes arising in the hospitality, property development, finance, government services, and professional services sectors, as well as landlord and tenant, construction, and private wealth matters. Mandy also brings experience in managing cross-border elements, and works with international clients or counsel where language, cultural nuance, or jurisdictional overlap may add complexity.

Mandy has worked full-time as a mediator for more than 15 years and is known for resolving complex, high-value disputes with clarity, calm authority, and commercial insight. She is one of the Lead Faculty at CEDR, a Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council, and a Barefoot-trained coach.

She is known for her ability to leverage technology to deliver mediation processes that are efficient, effective, and inclusive. Mandy also stands out as one of the few mediators who can move seamlessly from the traditional neutral role - helping participants break down barriers and shape their deal - to running alongside them to support a complex transaction through to completion, or to help rebuild relationships affected by difficult conversations.

Before focusing solely on mediation, Mandy was Head of Real Estate Litigation at Clifford Chance, where she advised clients on business-critical disputes. Her work included supporting financial institutions in the wake of Lehman’s collapse, helping developers maximise asset value, guiding landlords and company directors through commercial and solvency challenges, and advising boardrooms under pressure.

English (Fluent) French (working knowledge)

International Mediation Institute (IMI) Lead Faculty, CEDR Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council Business and Personal Coach (Barefoot Coaching) International Coaching Federation The Property Litigation Association Association of Northern Mediators Mental Health First Aider

Certified Mediator, International Mediation Institute (IMI) CEDR-accredited Mediator Barefoot-trained Personal and Business Coach Mental Health First Aider UK Solicitor (now non-practising)

MA, Law, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge

Mandy’s mediation style is calm, clear, and attuned. She brings structure without rigidity, creating space for difficult issues to be explored with honesty, focus, and forward momentum. Participants often comment on her ability to hold complexity without escalating conflict, and enabling even entrenched parties to stay in the room and stay engaged.

She adapts her approach to the context: at times helping participants reframe perspectives or acknowledge loss; at others, navigating strategic business decisions with clarity and pace. She is equally comfortable working with high-conflict family dynamics as she is with top-tier legal teams managing reputational or commercial risk.

Mandy is known for her energy, authority, and presence - as well as for her ability to listen deeply, ask the right questions at the right moment, and hold space for clear thinking under pressure. Her professional coaching training strengthens this further, sharpening her instinct for when to step in, when to hold back, and how to support constructive movement without pressure or prescription.

Whether helping parties shape a deal, reach a clean break, or manage continuing relationships, Mandy’s approach is thoughtful, grounded, and quietly impactful.

“Mandy is fast on her feet, has a highly engaging and authoritative manner and is in total control of every element of the mediator’s toolkit.”— Mediator and former Head of Litigation for a global financial institution

“Mandy’s pragmatic approach and ability to navigate complex situations facilitate settlements without making parties feel pressured. She is our go-to mediator.”— Partner, Real Estate Litigation, national UK law firm

“Mandy was superb — driving the process to a mutually agreeable compromise without too much fuss… her approach leaves little option but for the parties to reach settlement.”— Corporate Partner, leading UK law firm

Outside of work, Mandy’s life is full of family, friends, sport, and the outdoors. She lives in the North West with her husband and teenage children, and values the energy, connection, and perspective that come from time spent away from the desk.

At each stage of her life, Mandy has sought out meaningful ways to contribute to her community using the skills she has at the time. Her voluntary roles have included sitting as a Magistrate, helping a local nursery school navigate the challenges of Covid as Chair of its board of trustees, acting as an advocate for parents of children with autism navigating the Special Educational Needs Tribunal, and supporting community mediation in Wandsworth as a pro bono mediator. In the mediation field, she spent three years working with the Civil Mediation Council on strategy, and now leads its Launch Pad scheme to support new mediators as they establish their practice. She is also a signatory to the World Mediators Alliance on Climate Change Green Pledge.