Independent Mediators

Mediation 

Consistently recommended by Chambers, Legal 500 and the international directory, Who's Who Legal, Stuart enjoys a very busy commercial mediation practice working across the UK and internationally.

Stuart has conducted more than 700 mediations since he began mediating in 2008, including more recently many online. He has been consistently recommended by the UK and international directories as a leader in the field of mediation. The legal directories say “He has a very good grasp of the issues and is easy to work with but tough when appropriate. I always find he understands very early on what each party is really looking for.” “He combines tenacity with a really calm manner, and somehow manages to coax people when they want to give up.” 

Stuart enjoys mediating across the UK and internationally and has a very broad experience of parties and dispute types.  He has mediated disputes involving parties from more than 20 jurisdictions. Areas of practice include,

Agriculture Banking & Finance Charities Commercial Agency Construction & Engineering Corporate and Shareholder Education Employment and Pensions Energy Environmental Franchising Fraud General Commercial Insolvency Insurance and Reinsurance Intellectual Property International Logistics and Transport Neighbour and Boundary Disputes Partnerships Product Liability Professional Negligence Property Public Bodies and Public Law Technology Trusts and Inheritance

Stuart’s background is in commercial dispute resolution and litigation. He qualified as a solicitor with Linklaters in 1991, where he worked until 1994. He was a partner and Head of Litigation in Leeds at Pinsent Masons from 1998 until 2008, when he left practice to become a full-time independent mediator.

As a litigation lawyer Stuart represented a diverse range of clients, national and international, in the UK courts, up to and including the Supreme Court and the Privy Council, in the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and in domestic and international arbitrations as well as in mediations and direct negotiations.

Stuart’s approach is essentially aimed at supporting high-quality decision-making. Sometimes this can involve empathic support, moving people into a more logical way of thinking; sometimes it can involve intellectual challenge, helping people to factor in that which they might have good arguments against but to which they should at least attach weight; sometimes equalising the information each party is considering is key.

Fellow of the CMC