I’m Lina Nguyen, Principal Mediator of Pactum Dispute Resolution.
As a lawyer, I gave legal advice, represented just one side in a case and fought hard for my client’s interests. Now, as a mediator, I work with all parties in the dispute as an independent person to help bring the case to resolution.
I practised as a lawyer in very high conflict environments including child protection and policing. I’ve had a very public legal dispute with a former employer and my career ended in a way that I couldn’t have ever imagined. I successfully resolved my complex disputes with multiple parties, navigating many complex legal as well as non-legal issues throughout the three year ordeal of a legal process. I’m also a refugee from a country that suffered 20 years of conflict and war. So, believe me, I bring some very hard earned lessons and lived experience to my professional work in dispute resolution.
When I tell people the kind of disputes I help with, they often ask: “How on earth do you do this work?” I always respond: “Because I love it.”
When there’s an argument, I listen for the need that all voices be heard.
Lina Nguyen
- Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department under the Family Law Act (Registration number: F2003339)
- Accredited Mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System
- Parenting Coordinator certified by the International Centre for Children and Family Law under the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Guidelines
- Admitted as a solicitor to the NSW Supreme Court
- Admitted as a solicitor to the High Court of Australia
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
- Masters of Child and Adolescent Welfare
- Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution Practice
- Graduate Certificate in Applied Management
Where there’s difference, I see colour, contrast, diversity and flavour.
Where there’s conflict, I’m looking at the opportunity for learning and growth.
In the middle of a dispute when we’re entrenched in our positions, it’s natural to feel completely separate and different from the other person or people involved. It helps me to remember that our DNA is actually about 99% the same and that we’re not as different as we may think in those moments of high intensity. I always see the common ground.
I will always act with integrity and impartiality. And no matter what your dispute is over – money, property, employment, children – I will treat you in the way that I would like to be treated, human to human.
