Dorothee Bernard
Mediator
Short Introduction
Restoring dialogue when it feels impossible. I help people and organisations move from tension, mistrust or deadlock to clearer, more workable decisions. What I love most about mediation is the moment people begin to feel heard differently, regain perspective and rediscover their capacity to think, speak and act more constructively. My work is grounded in rigour, neutrality and straight talking, with a practical aim: reducing escalation, rebuilding cooperation where possible and helping people move forward.
Testimonials
About Work
Dorothée Bernard is a CEDR Accredited Mediator with over 16 years’ experience in workplace, organisational and business disputes. Her practice includes interpersonal and team conflict, leadership and management tensions, partnership breakdowns, contractual disagreements, commercial lease disputes, high-value construction project claims and complex multi-party mediations. She has worked with private companies, public bodies, international organisations and professional teams, including in multicultural environments where legal, financial, relational and reputational issues are closely intertwined.
Her workplace mediation experience includes disputes between colleagues, managers and employees, team-wide tensions, allegations of harassment or discrimination, difficulties linked to organisational change, and situations where trust has broken down over time.
In business and commercial matters, she has mediated disputes involving unpaid invoices, service delivery issues, shareholder or partner exits, construction delays, property-related disagreements and high-value claims involving several stakeholders.
Dorothée’s key skills lie in careful preparation, process design, active listening, reframing, reality-testing and helping parties move from fixed positions towards a clearer understanding of their interests and options. Her personal style is calm, structured and pragmatic, with a strong emphasis on creating trust, managing strong emotions and enabling respectful but honest conversations. She helps parties regain clarity, assess risk, explore practical solutions and make informed decisions about the way forward.
Her workplace mediation experience includes disputes between colleagues, managers and employees, team-wide tensions, allegations of harassment or discrimination, difficulties linked to organisational change, and situations where trust has broken down over time.
In business and commercial matters, she has mediated disputes involving unpaid invoices, service delivery issues, shareholder or partner exits, construction delays, property-related disagreements and high-value claims involving several stakeholders.
Dorothée’s key skills lie in careful preparation, process design, active listening, reframing, reality-testing and helping parties move from fixed positions towards a clearer understanding of their interests and options. Her personal style is calm, structured and pragmatic, with a strong emphasis on creating trust, managing strong emotions and enabling respectful but honest conversations. She helps parties regain clarity, assess risk, explore practical solutions and make informed decisions about the way forward.
Expertise
- Employment & Workplace
- Commercial & Corporate
- Construction, Property & Planning
- Technology, Media & IP
- Public Sector & Governance
- International Trade & Competition
Languages
- French
- English
- Italian
Memberships
- FFCM – Fédération Française des Centres de Médiation — Member; Dorothée Bernard is also an elected board member of the FFCM
- Listed as a mediator and mediation centre with the Paris Court of Appeal
Publications
Dorothée has contributed to several volumes of "Les Cahiers du Montalieu", published by Médias & Médiations, including work on turning points in mediation, mediator neutrality, confidentiality, humility in mediation, and the role of explicit and implicit power in mediation.
These include: Le point de bascule (2016), Le médiateur : la neutralité, une nécessité éthique, mille difficultés pratiques (2014), Confidentialité et médiation : un principe si délicat (2022), Médiation et humilité : une vertu, peut-être… Une posture efficace ? certainement ! (2024), and Pouvoirs et médiations : Implicites ou explicites – Une réalité pour les médiateurs ! (2025).