Professional background and experience:

Ebrahim is a Director of Mediate Works (Pty) Ltd and is a legal consultant at CDH Law firm. He is a graduate of Wits University and was admitted as an attorney in 1997. He was trained by IMSSA as a mediator and arbitrator in 1998. He has actively worked as a neutral third party and trainer since 1998. He expanded his training to include aspects of diversity and inclusion in 1999, relationship-building training in 2000, peace-building in socio-political and community disputes in 2006, obtained his accreditation as a CEDR mediator in 2007, and expanded his skills as a medical negligence mediator in 2014.

Ebrahim integrates his experience in law, dispute resolution and teaching to provide value to clients. While his primary work is in South Africa, he works extensively internationally.

Ebrahim is associated with the CCMA as a part-time Senior Commissioner, the International Labour Organisation Training Centre (ITCILO) as a lead faculty member, the University of Witwatersrand School of Law, and the Mandela Institute (Wits) as a visiting Senior Lecturer, Conflict Dynamics as lead faculty on their training faculty and serves as a lead member, coach and assessor on the commercial mediator training run in association with CEDR (UK).

Ebrahim has co-authored a book titled Appropriate Dispute Resolution, A Practical Guide to Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration and authored numerous articles in various publications.

Mediation experience and style:

Ebrahim is a multidisciplinary mediator. He primarily mediates complex employment, labour, and workplace matters. He has successfully practiced as a mediator in commercial, medical negligence, property, family, education, sectional title, and civil matters. The ILO has contracted him to assist in mediating unique disputes for the ILO. He is at ease in mediating workplace matters where the grievances and positions of the people pose a high risk.

Ebrahim is commended for his ability to build and maintain the trust of the parties, manage, discern, and simplify information in large complex matters and design unique processes that fit the purpose of the parties. His attention to detail and ability to use time, efficiently, provides great value to parties. He can comfortably work across the spectrum of facilitative and evaluative mediation styles and successfully mediates online and in person. Given his experience, he is comfortable working with diverse groups and where multiple languages and interpretation services are used. Ebrahim has an over 90% success rate of settlements.

Facilitation experience and style:

Ebrahim is comfortable facilitating a range of processes that involve small groups and large sector groups that are represented by multiple parties. He has been used in processes that involved a few hundred people and, in instances where there were over 1000 issues. He has facilitated strategic sessions, conferences, summits, relationship building sessions and developed integrated processes for clients that uniquely build on the capacity, negotiation strategy, policy and process development, relationship building, facilitated negotiation and analysis and review of negotiation process, practice, and outcomes. His work in the public and private sector bargaining council environment has created significant positive change. His attention to detail, process development, adaptability, reporting, and data management is of great benefit to clients. The ILO has recognised this skill and has used him to train and develop a work plan for turning around the Kenyan Labour Board and has assisted the ILO to capacitate and establish the joint working committees in Qatar. To date, all his facilitation processes have been successful. 

Chairing enquiries and investigations experience:

Ebrahim has chaired a number of enquiries and is often used in high risk and complex disciplinary enquiries for the public and private sector. He has developed an expedited approach to disciplinary enquiries and has successfully resolved many disciplinary matters through written submissions. His ability to narrow issues and identify the underlying concerns makes him valuable in expediting and obtaining the most out of disciplinary processes. He has sat as a disciplinary chairperson for the Board of Sheriffs and the Legal Practice Council. He has also sat as an adjudicator for the CCMA and CSOS.

Ebrahim has investigated, produced data, and made recommendations in matters that involved allegations of racism, sexual harassment and fraud. He has successfully undertaken such processes for National Departments and has worked closely with the Minister and Director General of such departments. He has been used to resolve university and school staff, executive and student disputes using hybrid processes including investigation, mediation, and facilitation processes. 

Coaching experience and style:

Ebrahim has worked with large multi-national clients of law firms to support the negotiators in developing their strategy, providing support to the negotiators to achieve greater value and enhance the relationships in their negotiations. His ability to quickly understand the legal issues, measure the risks, develop process solutions and strategic responses to unique parties is based on his ability to merge his legal, lecturing and dispute resolution experience.