Eve Pienaar

Practice Areas

Eve is a highly regarded full time commercial mediator, working across a range of commercial sectors including property and construction, professional negligence, shareholder disputes, insolvency, commercial contracts and defamation. Eve has considerable experience of contentious probate as well as workplace cases. She has mediated over 400 commercial cases, since becoming CEDR accredited in 2007 and is regularly sought after for complex, high value or multi party cases.

Eve’s practice includes complex projects mediated over weeks or months. For instance, co-mediating the division of assets between beneficiaries of trust funds, where one of the five beneficiaries demanded an early exit, over a period of months. Other cases mediated over time include brokering the terms upon which the Paris office of an international accountancy practice would sever ties with the rest of the partnership. Many workplace cases tend to be mediated over time.

Eve regularly contributes articles in the field and speaks on mediation related topics at conferences and panels. She is a Fellow of the CMC and member of Faculty of CEDR. She also mediates for the ICC and LCIA. Eve is an IMI certified commercial mediator.

Examples of recent mediation cases include:

Claim brought by statutory water operator against 4 Defendants, in relation to pipe strike which affected a large area of the country, in circumstances where the regulator had awarded punitive damages (£8m) on top of the damage to property claims. Complex case due to number of Defendants and related issues of contributory negligence. Case settled over a 2 week period;

Case brought by Contractor acting through its Litigation Funder, against Employer in construction development project where dispute over final account had caused the Contractor to become insolvent. Assignment of Claim to Litigation Funder. Case mediated over 2 separate mediation days - fully settled;

Unfair prejudice claim brought by minority shareholder of a private company, in circumstances where majority shareholder had allegedly shared confidential and commercially sensitive information with third parties, to the detriment of the company and therefore to the value of its shares;

Professional negligence claim brought against firm of accountants, from related corporate clients, in relation to tax advice received on the VAT treatment of business/non-business apportioned transactions over time and resulting in VAT underpayment penalties and interest charges;

Various breach of warranty claims brought by Purchasers against Vendors of corporate entities, where Claimants allege the value of the target corporate was overstated - whether negligent or fraudulent misrepresentation claims;

Eve regularly mediates claims under the 1975 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act, from family members or beneficiaries arguing a Settlor did not make reasonable provision for them under their Will;

Claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, typically by persons who had benefited from living in the property owned by the deceased, upon a threatened sale of the property by the beneficiaries;

Cases involving allegations of invalidity of a Will, duress or coercion of the Settlor, or revocation of a Will by destruction (disputed evidence); and

Constructive trust cases and proprietary estoppel claims where Claimant alleges they acted in good faith on the promise of inheriting property, in circumstances where Settlor leaves their property to others, and where Claimant alleges they acted to their detriment based on promises made to them by the Settlor.

Workplace cases include a number of grievances and disputes amongst members of staff of an organisation, where mediation is used to clarify roles, correct assumptions and improve communications between colleagues.

Eve builds on her previous experience working as Head of Legal and Governance, for regulatory bodies (RICS, RIBA), to help corporates work through Board disputes or dysfunctional behaviours at Board level, hindering the commercial success of the business.

Eve uses mediation interventions to assist Board of Governors of education providers, where the Board is unable to move forwards in a cohesive manner, causing disruption to strategy and provoking disputes with the Senior Leadership Teams involved in running these schools or Universities.

Career

A solicitor by background, Eve worked in senior General Counsel roles within international organisations for many years before becoming a full time commercial mediator.

Eve was educated in France and is bi-lingual, mediating in French on a number of international cases.

Professional Memberships

Eve regularly contributes articles in the field and speaks on mediation related topics at conferences and panels. She is a Fellow of the CMC and member of Faculty of CEDR. She also mediates for the ICC and LCIA. Eve is an IMI certified commercial mediator.

Publications

Eve has authored articles on mediation published in Lexology, the Legal Expert Review and for CEDR.

Eve regularly contributes webinars, including co-presenting on mediating with neurodivergent parties (with a neurodiversity expert), mediating contentious probate cases or mediating commercial cases post the Court of Appeal's Churchill decision (in 2023).

Work Highlights

Listed in Tier 2 of the Legal 500 mediator directory.

2025 Client Choice Award for Commercial Mediation, by Lexology.

Fellow of the CMC.

CEDR commercial panel member - Eve works exclusively through CEDR and works closely with CEDR to promote commercial mediation, generally, and in particular to improve access and inclusivity of the mediation process.

Industry Sector Expertise

Property and construction;

Telecoms and infrastructure projects;

Public sector;

Trusts, Wills and contentious probate;

Commercial contracts;

Partnership and shareholder disputes (and joint venture);

Professional negligence;

Insolvency; and

Employment and workplace.

Awards

Languages Spoken

Fluent french speaker;

Good Spanish understanding.