Beverley Vara

Beverley is an experienced mediator (full time since 2013) having previously been a litigation partner in a leading firm of solicitors.

She is capable of understanding the legal issues quickly and has an ability to work with the parties to help them arrive at a settlement.

Beverley has experience of online and hybrid mediations as well as in person mediations and is regularly appointed in large commercial disputes, often those with a real estate angle and often where one or more parties are from outside the UK, but she mediates all types of commercial and private client disputes.

She has been listed as a leading mediator in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for many years.  She has written articles on a variety of mediation topics, and regularly gives seminars on mediation. She regularly coaches and assesses on Mediation Skills Training Courses both in the UK and internationally.

The feedback she receives from solicitors representing parties in her mediations is that they, and their clients, appreciate her straight talking, practical approach and her ability to mix a rigorous legal analysis of the case with empathy to help the parties find a solution that works for all of them.

Beverley is currently working with the Anglican Diocese of Southwark to set up a pro bono mediation service to assist Parishes where disputes arise.

Beverley worked as a solicitor for 20 years, the last 10 of which were as a litigation partner in Allen & Overy LLP where she specialised in contentious property work and was Head of Real Estate Litigation. Since leaving A&O in 2013, Beverley has transferred to the bar to further her mediation work and now mediates all types of commercial and private client disputes including property, insolvency, professional negligence and breach of contract claims.

Beverley believes that it is important for a mediator to adjust their style and approach to reflect the needs for the parties to the dispute and the circumstances of each individual case. She works with solicitors representing parties in advance of the mediation day to better understand their client’s needs and the approach to take to best assist the parties in making a success of the mediation day. Having been a litigation partner in a large law firm, Beverley is well able to be robust where necessary, but also recognizes the need for empathy in mediation. Beverley’s style has been described as calm and authoritative with the ability to gently help each party reality test their respective positions with the situation calls for it.

All types of commercial dispute, including:

Banking and Finance

Construction and Engineering

Insolvency

Planning

Professional negligence

Property - Landlord and Tenant, Neighbor, Sale & Purchase, Finance

Wills and probate, Trusts, Inheritance

Commercial Contracts

Nuisance/Negligence

PFI

Private Client

Sale of Goods & Services

Tort

Warranties

The recent editions of the directories state:

Legal 500, Commercial Mediation, 2026:

The ‘authoritative, respected and sensible’ Beverley Vara joined the IPOS Mediation panel in 2023. Also at Maitland Chambers, Vara is 'extremely bright and readily identifies the weaknesses and risks in a party’s case. She is very good at getting the parties to compromise’. Experienced in a range of commercial disputes that involve both domestic and international parties, Vara’s recent appointments include mediations concerning breach of loan agreements. She also recently mediated a tri-partite conflict involving a sale of two parcels of land that were originally within one title. Vara has additionally set up a pro bono mediation scheme for the Anglican Diocese of Southwark to handle disputes that arise within parish church communities.

Lexology Index, Commercial Mediation 2025:

“Beverley is an incredibly effective mediator” “She is always well prepared and is a proactive practitioner” “She is one of the best mediators”

Legal 500, 2022:

Great at absorbing all the key information, listens to all parties’ concerns, and is very adept at helping  negotiations to successful conclusions.

Chambers UK, 2025:

Beverley Vara is recognised for her expertise mediating cases in the property sphere as she previously practised law as a real estate litigation solicitor. She is also noted for her experience in dealing with professional negligence and fraud related cases.

"With a background in property, she understands the technical aspects and commerciality, which is a good mix for a mediator. She understands the subject matter and knows how to get a settlement."

"She is one of my top choices as she really gets results and works hard to assist the parties."

Chambers UK, 2024:

"Beverley Vara concentrates her mediation practice on commercial disputes. She displays notable expertise in real estate-related cases." "She's very impressive, very determined, and clients like her a lot. She's hard-working and encourages the parties to negotiate, discuss and not walk away. My client was very impressed, and her patience is extraordinary."

"She takes a no-nonsense approach to mediation. Beverley is very sharp and wastes no time getting to the core issues in a dispute to focus minds and see whether a resolution can be reached. She has a confident yet approachable mediation style and is a go-to mediator for thorny disputes."

"Beverley is a sharp and patient mediator."

Chambers UK, 2021:

Likes to grasp cases by the scruff of the neck and is good at handling challenging situations.

Chambers UK, 2020:

Very good at getting people to think in the right away about a case. She gets on top of the detail quickly and sees points that might have been missed.

Chambers UK, 2019:

She's very good at getting people to think and to negotiate, and she gets cases quickly.

Chambers UK, 2018:

Beverley is firm, straight-talking and comes up with creative ideas to try to achieve a resolution. She grasps legal issues quickly, which enables the parties to concentrate on settlement discussions.

Chambers UK, 2017:

Beverley Vara is a “very supportive and helpful” mediator who is regularly appointed to property disputes and cases involving professional negligence. One impressed observer states that “she was very good and skilled in moving the parties to settle” and “she was instrumental in getting the parties out of their entrenched positions.

CEDR/Oxford Process Certificate in International Conflict resolution and Peacemaking 2021

Called to the Bar 2013

Litigation partner and head of Real Estate Litigation, Allen & Overy LLP 2003-2013

CEDR mediation accreditation 2012

Associate Allen & Overy 2000-2003

Higher Rights of Audience 2002

Associate Cameron Markby Hewitt, later CMS Cameron McKenna 1994-2000

Admitted as Solicitor, England and Wales, 1994

Trainee Solicitor Cameron Markby Hewitt 1992-1994

MPhil, Computer Speech & Language Processing, University of Cambridge, 1990

Management trainee Lloyds Bank PLC 1987-1989

BSc, Mathematics, University of London, 1987, First Class

“Thank you, Beverley, sincerely, for all your help and guidance. We would not have got there without you.”

“Thank you, Beverley, and for doing another excellent job for us in such tough circumstances.

“Thank you for your apparently limitless supply of patience and your assistance with getting us to a resolution.”

“It was a real pleasure to work with you and your skilful handling of the mediation was a masterclass.”

“Thank you for guiding us towards a settlement yesterday which I am sure was largely due to your expertise.

My clients definitely have a much higher opinion of mediation following their experience. Thank you for your help again: I would certainly have no hesitation in recommending you as a mediator to my colleagues and clients.”

“Your performance was excellent. One of the best that I have seen from a mediator in the past 30 years of acting in mediations.”

“Beverley was excellent. The way she handled both joint and individual meetings was great.”

“Calm, collected manner.”

“Calm authority and an assured open manner which facilitates communication.”

“A sound handling of the process.”

“We thought she was excellent! our client was very pleased with her.”

“She did a very good job moving the parties from their original positions.”

“I think Beverley was very helpful and judged the tone of the mediation well.”

“I thought Beverley was extremely professional and knowledgeable in the way she dealt with the issues. It was not the easiest mediation in terms of the positions of the parties with regard to the claim and in terms of the various personalities at play but Beverley treated the parties fairly, challenged us when appropriate and kept the mediation moving in order to achieve a settlement.”