The founder and principal of Ansr. Dispute Resolution, Stephen Dickinson can attest to the importance and growing prevalence of alternative dispute resolution and mediation after nearly twenty years as a specialist commercial litigator in South Australia. During this time, Stephen represented clients in a range of jurisdictions and across various areas of the law such as corporations law (including duties of directors and rights of shareholders), contract, partnerships, property, building and construction, major projects, commercial and residential tenancies, consumer protection, defamation, professional negligence, financial services, trusts, equity and contested estates. Stephen’s broad and diverse legal practice and experience saw him represent clients at countless mediations and appear before the Federal, Supreme, District, Magistrates and Industrial Relations Courts in South Australia and interstate, as both counsel and instructing solicitor.
Additionally, Stephen has been appointed by the Supreme Court of South Australia as the litigation guardian of persons under a disability who have been named as parties to complex litigation, as well as the legal representative of a large class of beneficiaries residing in South Australia, interstate and overseas in respect of a claim commenced against the deceased estate of a family member who passed away without leaving a valid will. Stephen has also been appointed by the Magistrates Court of South Australia as the Administrator of various Strata Corporations facing conflict amongst unit holders.
Since establishing Ansr. Dispute Resolution in 2018, Stephen has transitioned from litigation to full time mediation, now sitting on various mediator panels including the Magistrates Court of South Australia, the South Australian Office of the Small Business Commissioner and under the Northern Territory Petroleum Regulations 2020. Stephen is also the current preferred settlement conference coordinator under the South Australian Land Acquisition Act 1969.
Stephen’s passion for and commitment to dispute resolution and mediation has seen him complete studies with Bond University, Queensland (2011), Leo Cussen Centre for Law, Melbourne (2011) and the Resolution Institute, South Australia (2017) resulting in Stephen becoming a nationally accredited mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS) in 2018.
Stephen is the immediate past chair of the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards (AMDRAS) Board, having been elected to the Board in 2019. Stephen is also the Chair of the Law Society of South Australia Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, having been appointed to the Committee in 2016. Stephen has been a member of the Law Society of South Australia since 2002 and is a member of the Resolution Institute (merging the former Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia and LEADR).
Stephen’s reputation as a dispute resolution specialist has seen him being rated as one of Australia’s Best Lawyers in Alternative Dispute Resolution and listed as a leading mediator in Doyles Guide over numerous and consecutive years.
Outside of professional life, Stephen spends much of his time with his wife and young family at their Willunga property, coaches in the Willunga Cricket Club junior program, is a former President of the Adelaide University Cricket Club, and is a passionate member of the Port Adelaide Football Club. Stephen has also been an active volunteer with Kickstart For Kids (a not-for-profit organisation helping school children achieve positive educational and self-esteem outcomes through breakfast, lunch and mentoring programs) and has trained and mentored University students, recent graduates and new mediators in the areas of mediation and dispute resolution.
