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 has represented clients in a range of jurisdictions and across various areas of the law such as contract, corporations law (including duties of directors and rights of shareholders), partnerships, property, 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 has seen 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’s reputation as a dispute resolution specialist has resulted in him being rated as one of Australia’s Best Lawyers* in Alternative Dispute Resolution, with his expertise in wills and estate litigation seeing him recognised in Doyles Guide of leading Wills and Estates Litigation Lawyers in South Australia.
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 has been a member of the Law Society of South Australia (LSSA) since 2002, an active member of the LSSA Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee since 2016 (being the Deputy-Chair of that Committee since 2018), was elected to the National Mediator Standards Board in 2019, and is a member of the Resolution Institute (merging the former Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia and LEADR), the Adelaide Collaborative Law Practice Group, the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM) and the McLaren Vale Business & Tourism Association.
Outside of professional life, Stephen spends much of his time with his wife and young family at their Willunga property, is the current President of the Adelaide University Cricket Club, an active member of the South Australian Cricket Association Premier Cricket Committee and 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) since 2015 and, through Ansr. Dispute Resolution will be mentoring University students and recent graduates in the areas of mediation and dispute resolution.
