Professional background and experience:

Ebrahim trains on several Conflict Dynamics courses and he is a lead trainer, coach and assessor on the Conflict Dynamics mediator skills training course. Ebrahim is a CEDR (UK) accredited commercial mediator and is associated with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as a part-time senior commissioner, the International Training Centre of the International Labour organisation (ITCILO) as a lead faculty member, and is on the mediation panels of the Mediation Hub in Dubai and ADGM in Abu Dhabi.

He has successfully led and developed training, coaching and assessment initiatives for thousands of individuals in many countries. He can train diverse audiences in both substantive law and skills development on topics such as diversity and inclusion (D&I), negotiation skills, collective bargaining, conflict management, mediator skills, joint committees, mediation advocacy skills, arbitration skills, disciplinary procedures, grievance and performance management, and general labour law.

Ebrahim heads Mediate Works (Pty) Ltd and is a legal consultant at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) law firm. He specialises in employment law and is a respected mediator, arbitrator, facilitator and trainer, integrating his experience in the practice of law, dispute resolution and teaching. Whilst he primarily works in South Africa, he has also worked internationally, including in Qatar, Dubai, Guinea, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Eswatini, Malaysia, Turkey, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Turin.

As an attorney, Ebrahim has worked on several reported judgements, offers advice to bargaining councils and acts as a negotiation advisor. He has mediated and arbitrated numerous disputes in the public and private sectors, including at board member and executive level. Sectors for which he has worked include education, commercial, sectional title, family, and socio-political. Ebrahim facilitates complex multi-party disputes to achieve sustainable outcomes and restore the working relationship between parties through the use of tailored dispute resolution processes. He also often chairs disciplinary enquiries in complex and high-risk matters. He has led investigations in areas of volatile conflict, often involving discrimination and harassment claims. He has assisted organisations to understand D&I, establish D&I committees and develop work plans to successfully implement D&I strategies.

Ebrahim has co-authored three editions of the book (Appropriate Dispute Resolution: A Practical Guide to Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration, 2025). He has also authored numerous employment-related articles in various publications and the ITCILO.

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.