IPOS Mediation

Alan Greenberg

Alan is a CEDR accredited mediator who specialises in mediating financial and business disputes. Alan qualified as a chartered accountant before working in the corporate finance, insolvency and strategic consultancy sectors.  He subsequently established Invex Capital where he gained further, and extensive, commercial experience in buying and selling, as a principal, a variety of businesses. Such work naturally entailed negotiating with investors, shareholders and directors as well as resolving employment and commercial matters whenever they arose.  Having been at the coalface of numerous business negotiations and, naturally, some disputes, Alan believes that his accounting background, together with his experience in buying, owning and selling many businesses can add real value to his skills as a mediator in helping parties resolving their disputes and rebuilding relationships. Alan has experience in a wide spectrum of sectors including property, home improvement, oil and gas markets, specialist retail, business services and safety equipment. He brings to his mediation practice a strong commercial understanding garnered from his years in business along with an ability to understand the most complex of financial documentation.    He continues to maintain strong contacts within the private equity, banking, corporate finance, insolvency and legal communities. Alan is currently Chairman of Equity FD and a Director of the Tradelink group of companies.

Alistair Pye

Alistair is one of the UK’s most popular mediators. With well over 750 mediations to his name, Alistair is consistently ranked in the top tiers of Legal 500 (including the Hall of Fame), Chambers and Partners and the International Who’s Who of Commercial Mediators. With over 30 years experience in dispute resolution at the highest level, Alistair trained as a mediator in 2006 and built his practice alongside his legal work – initially as a solicitor with a major international law firm and latterly a barrister. Coming from a background in all types of commercial, insurance and property disputes, for the majority of his legal career Alistair specialised in construction and insurance disputes. He has represented developers, contractors, construction professionals and their insurers in some of the biggest and most complex disputes in the UK – in the courts, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. Alistair left legal practice in 2014 to work as a full-time mediator and has since developed one of the busiest practices in the UK. With a settlement rate well above the industry average, his straight talking, imaginative style, his professionalism and his willingness to go the extra mile have led to resolution of all types of civil and commercial disputes, from modest claims to complex multi-party cases up to £100 million. Alistair is valued for his attention to detail, his ability to focus minds on negotiation rather than attrition and for his good humour (a much-underrated quality in mediation!). Like all top mediators, Alistair has very extensive experience of online mediations which continue to be popular, particularly where there is an international element. Alistair is available to work anywhere. Based in London and the South West, Alistair mediates nationally, internationally and online.

Amanda Bucklow

Amanda has maintained a full-time independent dispute resolution practice since 1991 and was accredited as a commercial mediator in 1996. She is one of the first career mediators to practise in the UK and she has a significant portfolio of mediated disputes across a range of industry sectors and legal contexts. Her personal style is to focus on generating good decisions and she has an enviable record of accomplishment as a catalyst for reaching agreement between even the most ‘individual’ of individuals. Parties frequently remark how much they appreciate the time and effort Amanda invests in helping the parties prepare for negotiation. She speaks with everyone before the mediation day so they are comfortable that they have someone who understands their goals and interests. This helps enormously with the use of time on the day. They also remark on her commercial flair, creative input and persistence in finding a resolution with a persuasive yet non-confrontational style.

Andrew Hildebrand

With a unique background as mediator, lawyer and business adviser, Andrew brings extensive business and legal experience to his mediation practice.   Andrew has been on both sides of the table, as mediator and advising clients in mediation.  This, combined with his extensive commercial experience, gives him an enviable ability to see all sides of a dispute and to find the best way to resolution. Ranked as a leading mediator in the Legal 500, Andrew is highly effective. He is attuned to what solicitors and clients want from a mediator and can be relied on to be relentlessly proactive, tenacious and commercially focused. He combines this ability with an affable nature that allows him to deal with difficult personalities and the confidence to know when to be robust and challenging and when to defuse the dynamics in a room. A leading Entertainment, Sports & Licensing mediator and IFTA Arbitrator, Andrew has mediated high profile cases involving Hollywood studios, broadcasters, rights owners, agents, managers, licensors, distributors, producers, creative talent, financiers, event organisers, sportsmen, franchises, brands and rock bands. His approach is underpinned by his in-depth industry experience working with creative businesses and his familiarity with the business practices and the personalities, both here and abroad. He set up and ran the commercial side of FilmFour, headed up business and legal divisions for companies like Channel 4 and ‘The King’s Speech’, Momentum and executive produced for the late Richard Attenborough. He has co-financed over 100 feature films, including ‘Motorcycle Diaries’, ‘The Madness of King George’ and ‘Trainspotting’ and numerous television productions. Andrew also specialises in mediating disputes as they start to flare up. Disputes between businesses and disputes within businesses, including between Partners, Shareholders and Family Members. Where people are having difficulties handling a commercial relationship, he can get it safely back on track or, if they prefer, help them separate sensibly, managing the transition sensitively and productively. Separately, Andrew acts on an exclusive basis for clients as a Dispute Settlement Specialist, working closely with them and their advisers to ensure that they manage their dispute risk portfolio effectively, settle on the most effective terms and get the best out of mediation.

Arabella Murphy

With nearly 25 years’ experience as a highly-rated Private Client solicitor, Arabella brings a wealth of technical understanding of personal and commercial issues to her mediation practice. Arabella naturally has a particular interest in disputes relating to trusts, wills, family businesses and family relationships, and is interested in a wide variety of commercial and personal disputes. Arabella began her career at Allen & Overy as an associate (later Partner) in the Private Client department, and was later a founding partner of Maurice Turnor Gardner. Throughout her legal career, she advised UK and international individuals, families, trustees, private banks and commercial parties on trusts, estate planning, taxation, personal assets (including art, jewellery, racehorses, yachts and planes) and family businesses, and was involved in a number of commercial transactions including securitisations and M&A. She is the author or co-author of a number of books on private wealth and trust litigation, and a regular speaker at conferences globally. Arabella additionally specialised in private wealth disputes, including a broad variety of disputes relating to trusts, wills, family business, partnerships/funds, and tax and domicile matters. Arabella’s decision to pursue a career in mediation sprang from her experience as an adviser in mediations relating to inheritance (including mental capacity), family business and family trusts ranging in value from a few million to multiple billions.

Barbara Mills

Barbara is a specialist family practitioner acting as both Counsel and as mediator.  She has an emphasis in Children cases. She is regularly instructed by Local Authorities and Guardians in complex care proceedings. In addition, she has extensive experience advising and acting for parties in private law proceedings often with an international element in the High Court. Barbara is a collaboratively trained counsel and offers Early Neutral Evaluation.  She also offers child inclusive mediation.

Beverley Vara

Beverley is an experienced mediator (full time since 2013) having previously been a litigation partner in a leading firm of solicitors. She is capable of understanding the legal issues quickly and has an ability to work with the parties to help them arrive at a settlement. She has experience of online and hybrid mediations as well as in person mediations and is regularly appointed in large commercial disputes, often those with a real estate angle and often where one or more parties are from outside the UK, but she mediates all types of commercial and private client disputes. She has been listed as a leading mediator in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for many years.  She has written articles on a variety of mediation topics, and regularly gives seminars on mediation. She regularly coaches and assesses on Mediation Skills Training Courses both in the UK and internationally. The feedback she receives from solicitors representing parties in her mediations is that they, and their clients, appreciate her straight talking, practical approach and her ability to mix a rigorous legal analysis of the case with empathy to help the parties find a solution that works for all of them. Beverley is currently working with the Anglican Diocese of Southwark to set up a pro bono mediation service to assist Parishes where disputes arise. Beverley worked as a solicitor for 20 years, the last 10 of which were as a litigation partner in Allen & Overy LLP where she specialised in contentious property work and was Head of Real Estate Litigation. Since leaving A&O in 2013, Beverley has transferred to the bar to further her mediation work and now mediates all types of commercial and private client disputes including property, insolvency, professional negligence and breach of contract claims.

Beverly-Ann Rogers

Beverly is consistently recognised by the leading legal guides as being in the top tier of mediators. Beverly was admitted to the Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2020 edition for excellence as a mediator. Beverly draws on her years of experience as a chancery and commercial barrister in mediating a wide range of disputes. Whilst commercial in nature, many of them involve family members or formerly close associates and have a high emotional content. Beverly has taught mediation and mediated internationally and is experienced in multi-party and cross-cultural disputes and trust disputes spanning a range of jurisdictions. She finds her mediation practice always engaging and highly satisfying. Beverly is committed both to sharing her knowledge and skills and enhancing them. She has benefited from international training including the Harvard Negotiation Course and the Henley Business Coaching Course.

Charles Middleton-Smith

Commercial full-time mediator with 20 years’ experience in all business sectors. During this period Charles has established (non-exclusively) specialisms in media, arts and entertainment, banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, family business, and trusts, wills and probate. Feedback from his clients indicates the ability to deploy, where appropriate, evidence of detailed preparation, establishing trust and rapport, robust challenging, calming high emotion, and humour.Charles was also  published in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2018.

Charles Gordon

Charles Gordon is a mediator and arbitrator, recognised by the Legal 500 for his mediation expertise. Charles handles a broad range of disputes including insurance and reinsurance, energy, professional negligence, property, shareholder and joint venture disputes . He is appointed by a wide range of law firms in London, the UK regions and internationally. He writes on disputes resolution topics and lectures on the subject. Charles is also involved in mediation training. He was a law firm partner for over 30 years and led the International Insurance practice at DLA Piper until his retirement in 2014. He still acts a consultant to clients in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. Charles was also, until October 2016, the litigation director of The RBoS Action Group advising on the £5 billion shareholder litigation against the Royal Bank of Scotland. Charles is also a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary University College in London. He is admitted to the Bar of the Bahamas. He is also a mentor with the Princes Trust. Having advised on leading cases at all levels of the English court, Charles was consistently recognised, during his years in private practice, in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 guides to the legal profession.  He is noted for combining a warm sense of humour with robust probing of parties’ positions, Charles is described as a “natural mediator” whose style is built on meticulous preparation and a thorough understanding of clients’ commercial positions. Charles’ approach to mediation is to engage with the parties on the issues, to drill down into the details of the dispute, in order to establish and help influence the key sticking points which have prevented prior resolution.

Charles Powell

I have over 25 years’ experience as a mediator and have now conducted over 450 mediations.  I am a founder member of the Association of Midlands Mediators.  I joined the In Place of Strife panel in 2018.  I specialise in commercial disputes, partnership disputes, professional negligence, property claims, fire damage claims and banking/asset finance disputes.

Chris Fitton

Chris was a busy commercial disputes partner for 20 years, with national/international law firms headquartered in London. He became a full-time mediator in 2014 and now mediates c50 high value cases each year (average dispute value >£500,000). Chris was published in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2018. Chris is a specialist mediator for: financial services and pensions (IFAs, pension trustees and administrators) professional negligence (solicitors and valuers) construction higher value contract/commercial disputes, including director/shareholder insolvency cases Chris regularly mediates cases for/involving: the UK’s leading insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates UK clearing banks liquidator firms (including EY and GT) Chris practices mostly in London and Scotland.

David A Evans JP

David specialises in mediation where the parties need to re-establish and maintain their relationship after the mediation, in particular workplace and organisational mediation. He has 30 years experience at the sharp end in a range of workplace and commercial environments, as an international business executive, company director, HR director, transformation consultant, mediator, magistrate, charity trustee, and advisory board member.  As such, David knows the importance of resolving disputes and repairing working relationships to enable businesses to move forwards.  David has extensive global experience of working in diverse environments, including professional services, FMCG, outsourcing, and manufacturing. David spent his career in the fields of HR, workplace transformation and commercial outsourced services. He was accredited as a Mediator in 2003. David started his career in industrial relations at Ford Motor Company, and has worked with a wide range of companies to implement successful change from a people perspective. David’s work also encompasses helping businesses work through conflict or learn from past disputes.  He uses his business experience and mediation skills to help clients improve their performances by helping them: resolve business issues which have a significant people or relationship element; achieve change in the workplace, such as transforming the culture; resolve conflict; and design and implement effective transformation and outsourcing programmes.

Elizabeth Birch

Elizabeth has been mediating commercial and international disputes since 1995, with a particular emphasis on maritime, commercial, insurance and reinsurance.  She was called to the Bar in 1978 where she fostered a reputation in a wide range of commercial and international areas of the law. She became a mediator in 1995, giving up advocacy in 2003 and has since been wholly dedicated to mediation and sitting as arbitrator. According to one beneficiary of her considerable skills ‘her gentle persona hides a solid steel intellect’, which may explain how she so effectively helps sophisticated clients to avoid litigation who are involved in high-value, highly-technical and complex disputes, often in cross border litigation or arbitration. Elizabeth has successfully conducted a very substantial number of mediations in commercial and cross border disputes.  She receives appointments from the ICC, LCIA and other international panels.  She is a Panel Member of SMC (Singapore Mediation Centre); SIMC (Singapore International Mediation Centre), SIMI (Singapore International Mediation Institute), AAA/ICDR (Main Panel and Oil and Gas Panel) and CPR (New York) for distinguished international mediators.  She was named as one of the top 10 mediators in UK in two surveys carried out by In Brief in 2002 and 2005 and recommended in Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession from 1998 – 1999 to date.  Who’s Who Legal 2016 put Elizabeth in their “Most Highly Regarded” category.

Harry Spurr

Harry is an experienced commercial mediator, described by peers and clients as “a highly skilled mediator” and “at the top of his profession”.  His practice encompasses a wide range of commercial and civil disputes, acting for clients ranging from large, high-profile corporates to SMEs, public bodies and other organisations, shareholders, community groups, professionals and other private individuals. He is also experienced in disputes involving land or property, including those concerning the regulation of land use such as environmental and planning conflicts and those engaging local authorities or other regulators, as well as complex disputes involving multiple stakeholders. Harry also mediates in disputes within businesses and other organisations, such as shareholder, boardroom and management conflicts.  He has considerable experience handling conflict within family-run enterprises.

Henrietta Jackson-Stops

Partner

Jane Gunn

Listed as a Global Leader in Who’s Who Mediation and featured in Legal 500 Hall of Fame for 2022, Jane Gunn is a former city solicitor, now a full-time mediator with over 25 years’ experience of mediating commercial cases. She has mediated hundreds of disputes and is frequently chosen for her extensive mediation experience as well as her ability to handle complex and emotive cases. Jane was accredited as a commercial mediator in 1996 (CEDR). She is a Mediator Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a CMC registered mediator and an IMI (The International Mediation Institute) Certified International Mediator. She is the immediate Past President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Jane Mulcahy KC

As a former journalist and editorial director, Jane brings a range of skills as well as a breadth of experience that is rare in a mediator and barrister. She specialises in sport, media and entertainment, employment, partnership disputes and human rights, using her natural intelligence and understanding to defuse frequently highly emotional cases. Given her areas of expertise as a barrister, mediator and arbitrator, it will not come as a surprise to find that she is familiar with the High Court and Court of Appeal as well as the employment tribunals and specialist tribunals and arbitrations in the sports arena, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. Jane sits on the English Cricket Board’s Appeals Panel in child protection cases, as well as Sport Resolutions’ Child Safeguarding Panel. She also sits as a Hearing Officer for cases of corruption in tennis. In addition she has experience of arbitrating disputes between players and agents through her appointment on Sport Resolutions’, and the FA Premier League’s, list of arbitrators. Jane has acted as mediator in a range of employment, sport, shareholder and partnership disputes. In facilitating settlement, she draws on her long experience of acting for both employers and employees and understands the particularly stressful and delicate nature of mediations in this field. Further, her experience in sports law matters comes from acting both for sports bodies, and individuals: she therefore understands the perspectives of both sides to a sports dispute.

Jon Lang

Jon Lang is one of the most sought-after commercial mediators in the UK. He became a full-time mediator in May 2005, having spent almost 20 years as a solicitor in private practice, the last six as a partner in the disputes group of White & Case. A calm and measured approach, combined with wide-ranging experience at all levels of the judicial system and across a variety of industry sectors, has earned him a reputation as one of the UK’s most experienced mediators. Jon has been listed in the first tier of mediator rankings of both the Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 directories for a number of years and in The International Who’s Who of commercial mediators. Whilst in private practice, Jon acted for clients at all levels of the judicial system, in domestic and international arbitration and mediation. He has represented clients from a wide variety of industry sectors, from aviation to underwriting and in most types of commercial dispute, from shareholder actions to professional negligence.  Whilst in-house counsel at LIFFE, Jon advised on matters relevant to the then financial services regulatory regime. Jon represented clients in a number of reported cases. Jon is now instructed in a wide variety of disputes both in the UK and overseas from multi-party international trade cases involving proceedings in various jurisdictions to cases involving multiple and diverse claims between members of partnerships. Jon has acted as an expert in mediation and is a panel member of the Court of Appeal mediation scheme.  He is a former Chair of the Mediation Committee of the International Bar Association, a former Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s International Mediation Committee and a member of CPR’s Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. Jon is also the author of the book, ‘A Practical Guide to Mediation in Intellectual Property, Technology & Related Disputes’ published by Sweet & Maxwell in 2006.

Lawrence Kershen

Lawrence is recognised as one of the UK’s most experienced mediators and was ranked by Who’s Who Legal in 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 as one of the world’s leading commercial mediators.  He has been a CEDR accredited mediator for nearly 20 years, and now works exclusively in mediation and training mediation skills.   Lawrence practised as a barrister for more than 30 years in a broad range of civil, commercial and complex criminal cases, and sat as a Recorder of the Crown Court; his understanding of civil and commercial litigation is second to none.  He blends experience of many years mediating, familiarity with litigation, and the practical application of communication skills. Lawrence’s mediation experience includes commercial contracts, banking and financial services, construction, defamation, engineering, inheritance, insurance, intellectual property, manufacturing, media, partnership, police, professional negligence, property, shareholdings and voluntary organisations.  He is also an experienced workplace and employment mediator.  Lawrence has experience in cross-cultural mediations, e.g. working with parties from Denmark/Norway (oil industry); Italy/India (manufacturing); US/ Denmark (pharmaceuticals); Israel/Ireland (charity); Switzerland/Iran (property). He has developed and run training courses in mediation and negotiation in the UK and abroad for a number of years, most recently for judges in Egypt and Morocco. He aims to adapt the mediation process to the specific needs of the parties, drawing on his experience as a trainer in communication skills such as NLP and Non-violent Communication. Given the effectiveness of dialogue in resolving conflict and making better relations, Lawrence qualified as a restorative facilitator. He has been actively involved in the development of Restorative Justice in the UK, both in the criminal field and in schools and organisations. From 2003-12 Lawrence was a Board member and latterly Chair of the Restorative Justice Council, and is trained as a restorative facilitator.  He has also acted as observer for Amnesty International in trials in the Gambia, Israel and Grenada, and in 1991 mediated between the Government of Grenada and 14 death row prisoners. To support the international work of Search for Common Ground in conflict transformation and peace-building he helped establish Search for Common Ground in the UK in 2007. He was its Chair until 2012 and remains a Board member. In 2007 he was honoured to be appointed Chief Pa Kumrabai of Yoni Bana Chiefdom in Sierra Leone. He is a certified trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and is also accredited as a trainer of Nonviolent Communication, the work of Dr Marshall Rosenberg. Lawrence speaks French and conversational Italian.

Liz Rivers

Liz is one of the few senior mediators in the UK who specialises exclusively in workplace and employment disputes.  With a diverse background in law, executive coaching and psychotherapy, she brings a unique blend of skills to the mediation process. Her psychotherapy and executive coaching expertise enable her to bring a high degree of sensitivity and empathy to her work, coupled with a deep understanding of organisational dynamics. She balances this with commercial pragmatism gained from over a decade’s experience as a commercial litigator in the City office of a global law firm. She is valued by HR professionals who bring her in to handle sensitive team issues where the breakdown of key working relationships could be very damaging to the organisation.  They prize her ability to quickly and discreetly help key team members to get their working relationships back on track. Liz qualified as mediator in 1992 – the first woman in the UK to become a CEDR Accredited Mediator, and has worked full time as a mediator since 1997.

Mark Shaw

Practising KC. (Blackstone Chambers, Temple, London) and mediator. As a litigator, Mark specialises in public law: especially central and local government bodies, professional disciplinary and regulatory agencies, police authorities, utilities and media organisations. This brings a depth of insight into the legal, presentational, financial, personnel, data protection and policy issues which often tax public and regulatory bodies. As a mediator, however, Mark’s 15 years of experience has mostly involved private sector disputes in almost every area of law, especially: corporate/partnership, neighbours/boundaries/land, landlord & tenant, commercial contracts, (re)insurance, media, procurement, financial services (workplace, contractual and regulatory/enforcement), health & safety, utilities, schools/universities & clubs, religious institutions, employment, industrial relations/trade unions, misconduct/misfeasance, EU, discrimination/harassment, property development, professional negligence, pensions, adult/child social care, health and family. Increasingly, Mark is trusted with the more important, high value, high profile and high temperature disputes.  They often involve multiple parties, complex legal issues and international dimensions; lasting several days and demanding advanced mediator skills. Recent mediations include, for example resolving two long-running industrial relations disputes concerning changes to the pension arrangements for 1000s of public sector workers (including senior judges) the joint mediation (with Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice) of a dispute over what was then thought to be the largest costs bill in UK legal history (arising from a very substantial negligence/nuisance class action about the alleged dumping of chemicals in Africa) An overseas dispute about the legality and scale of enforcement action taken by an offshore financial services regulator against traders/companies.   Resolving the allocation of care responsibilities, and millions of pounds in care costs, between four public bodies. Mark has also acted as a hybrid mediator/adjudicator/visitor for Exeter University dealing with a challenge by the Christian Union to its suspension from the Students’ Union for refusing to allow non-Christian students to become members or leaders, which helped to defuse a judicial review claim. He has recently also acted as an independent investigator for a major UK professional regulator, reporting on a complaint made by a registrant against the regulator’s head.

Mark Jackson-Stops

Mark Jackson-Stops has been a full-time mediator since the mid 1990s and founded IPOS Mediation, then known as In Place of Strife, in 1995.  He has since become recognised as one of the UK’s most experienced mediators, having conducted over 1,700 mediations.  Two decades practising as a Chartered Surveyor from 1973 lent him an unsurpassable insight into certain specialist areas of expertise including property development, investment and management, as well as tenant negotiations and valuations.  However, it has been the last twenty years plus, spent in full time mediation of commercial disagreements of every kind, that have really refined his legal acumen and the calm, confident style that’s so essential to successful dispute resolution. Mark trained as a mediator in the UK with CEDR, by whom he is accredited, and also with USA&M, then one of the largest US mediation practices, in Houston and El Paso, Texas. As a chartered surveyor, Mark’s experience covered principally property development and finance, landlord and tenant negotiations, property investment, management and valuation. When in practice as a chartered surveyor, he held appointments as an expert valuer in a number of professional negligence cases and also acted as a Receiver under the Law of Property Act. In his mediation career, Mark frequently acts in cases involving the insurance market, whether coverage issues, breach of conditions, professional negligence, property damage, business interruption and the like. Mark Jackson-Stops has considerable business experience. He has been a non-executive director of a number of companies involved in nursing homes, property development and investment and public houses. Mark was the recipient of the Judge’s Award for Achievement in Mediation, National Mediation Awards 2020 and he has been recognised as a Thought Leader in Mediation by Who’s Who Legal 2021.

Mark Linnell

Mark Linnell is an experienced commercial mediator. He was accredited by the CEDR in 2005 and is ranked in both Chambers and Legal 500 as one of the UK’s leading mediators. He has a comprehensive case file that includes a wide range of commercial, agricultural, financial and family mediations. Mark has been described as ‘an excellent mediator, able to help organisations save huge amounts of money in a very short timescale.’ His mix of commercial and military experience means he understands the long-term financial and emotional value that comes from resolving your dispute without recourse to litigation. Mark is skilled at identifying what’s important to both parties and has a ‘fantastic ability to bring people together,’ winning the confidence and trust of everyone involved to ‘make things happen.’ Mark’s innate sense of purpose is naturally balanced by his calm, warm and genial personality. “The mediator was professional, calm, reassuring in his manner and easy to understand” Partner City Law firm 2020 A creative approach Mark brings new thinking and creativity to his work as a mediator, all the while staying focussed on the goal. He understands that his role is to find a positive solution, not just refute what’s being said or look to find fault with the law. He will work tirelessly to do this, coming up with new ideas and approaches until you reach a settlement. While most settlements are cash there can be other, more creative alternatives. Mark’s fresh thinking means he is skilled at identifying and securing these. For example, he once settled a case with air miles so a father could travel to see his son in America four times in a year, all flights first class. “Professional and considered. He thought laterally and attempted to bring several parties to discussions (not just the lawyers).”  

Michael Cover

Michael Cover has been a full time mediator since 2008. He was accredited as a mediator by CEDR in 2002 and now practises full-time as an independent mediator and arbitrator. He is a Barrister, Accredited Mediator and Chartered Arbitrator. He has been involved in around 260 mediations. He is a member of the mediation panels of many of the leading UK and international institutions. He has recently been trained as an Investor State mediator with ICSID (the World Bank), CEDR and IMI. Michael’s practice covers both commercial and family business disputes. He is accredited as a Commercial Mediator by CEDR and also as a family and family business mediator. Michael has combined a 30-year career as a lawyer in private practice and industry with involvement in a range of leisure and legal information companies. He has, therefore, a rare mixture of legal and business experience and, although this allows him to get straight to the heart of contentious issues, it is perhaps his grasp of disputants’ psychology that makes him such a successful mediator. He has a broad commercial mediation practice, although he is particularly strong on intellectual property, technology and insurance and is particularly adept at helping to solve cross-cultural and cross-border disputes. He comes from a family business background and, as a trained family mediator is, therefore, particularly suitable for disputes where commercial and family interests collide. Michael is a natural communicator, bringing to the parties a combination of charm and tenacity. He has not only the business skills to understand and deal with ancillary and financial issues but also the sensitivity to deal with children and other difficult issues in situations of high emotion. He is a regular writer, speaker and presenter on ADR topics, including being on panels at the International Mediation Interest Group in Geneva. Michael has been a Judge at both the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris and the UK Mediation Skills Competition in London. He has been a trainer on mediations at an event organised by the Energy Charter Secretariat and, in 2017, trained mediators for the CIArb in Kuala Lumpur, as well as speaking on hybrid dispute resolution processes in Bahrain and Rotterdam in 2018 and Rio de Janeiro in 2020. He has a particular interest in mediation of cross-cultural disputes and has mediated disputes in the French language. Michael is listed in the mediation section of the Legal 500 directory.

Patrick Walker

Consistently ranked in tier 1 in both Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 directories, and with excellent feedback including in video mediations, Patrick is one of the UK’s busiest mediators. Whilst in private practice, Patrick specialised in property law and has earned a reputation as a leader in that field, appearing in all courts, the Lands Tribunal and the Agricultural Land Tribunal. He now mediates full time whilst also sitting part-time as Recorder and Deputy High Court Judge. With over 15 years’ experience as a mediator he mediates most types of commercial disputes together with contentious probate and trust disputes and is frequently struck by the contrast between disillusioned parties at trial and satisfied parties at mediation. Legal directory references note that he provides ‘everything you want from a mediator’ and manages to combine ‘a measured professional and firm’ approach with a ‘light, friendly and inclusive’ touch. He brings a highly-informed and pragmatic approach to all disputes including property, broad commercial disputes and family and trust matters’. Patrick conducts mediations with perception and authority in both his specialist field of property law and in a wide variety of commercial disputes including intellectual property and statutory undertakers and in areas as diverse as personal injury, nuisance and family and trust matters.  He is experienced in multiparty disputes and is equally used to working with Leading Counsel or litigants in person.  He works nationally and has a high success rate.

Peter Crossley

Peter is a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs and London Head of International Arbitration. He has more than 30 years of experience as a commercial litigator and is increasingly in demand for his mediation skills. Peter is a qualified CEDR Mediator and has conducted mediation work for over 20 years. He has significant experience in international sales of goods disputes, fraud compliance and regulatory work, contractual warranty claims, partnership and Director/Shareholder disputes.

Rebecca Attree

Rebecca is one of the top 50 UK commercial mediators. Described as “an exceptional mediator” (2023 Legal 500), “outstanding” and “excellent on all fronts”, Rebecca has been consistently ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a Leading Mediator and continuously receives excellent client feedback. Mediating a wide range of disputes in the UK and internationally, Rebecca regularly mediates disputes that relate to financial institutions, shareholder, partnership, company / commercial, family business, insurance, trusts, property, aviation, workplace, employment, and the creative industries. Rebecca is renowned for her calm, professional, persuasive approach, and exceptional ability to build trust and rapport. She is also energetic and maintains momentum throughout a mediation. Excellent preparation of each case combined with her own extensive legal and commercial experience means she can robustly yet empathically challenge when appropriate. Described as “commercially astute as well as sensitive to each party’s issues”, clients acknowledge her great ability to encourage the parties to see the dispute from the other party’s point of view. Rebecca is comfortable mediating inter-personal disputes between parties from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, beliefs and diversities and speaks fluent Italian and good French. Rebecca trained as a mediator with ADRg in the UK and INADR in the US. She has regularly mediated online since 2013 and has a highly effective presence. She is frequently praised for being a skilful communicator. One of the first women to graduate from Downing College, Cambridge in Law, Rebecca qualified as a solicitor in the City of London (Reed Smith, then Laytons). In 1995 she set up and ran for several years her own highly successful international solicitor’s practice, Attree & Co. Since 2002 she has also been a director of a property company.  She has advised overseas governments and judicial administrations how to introduce mediation into their jurisdictions. Rebecca brings her extensive experience in business and negotiating to her mediations, that often leads to a creative approach to facilitating a solution. Rebecca has experienced the full 360 degrees of mediation. Whilst she is now a full-time mediator, she has previously been a mediation advocate, party to a dispute, and co-mediator (where multiple parties were involved). This “all angles experience” gives her a deep understanding of the psychological issues underpinning a mediation and how to get quickly to the nub of what really matters in each mediation room.

Stephen Ruttle

Stephen Ruttle KC is one of the UK’s leading mediators.  Having, by October 2018, mediated almost 1500 disputes of every type in both the private and public sector there are few disputes which Stephen has not dealt with. Although his practice began in the shipping, insurance and reinsurance markets (which were his areas of expertise as Counsel) he now views himself as a mediator of any dispute rather than of a particular sector.  Most of the disputes that Stephen handles concern claim value of six or seven figures but many have been into the hundred of millions and, on occasion, billions.  Stephen mediates mainly in London, but mediates regularly in other parts of the UK and Ireland and in many jurisdictions abroad.  For the last four years he has been one of Who’s Who Legal’s Top 10 most respected Commercial Mediators in the world. In 2017 he featured in a new list, Who’s Who Legal “Thought Leaders: Mediation” as one of only ten in the world and in 2018 Stephen was included in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for excellence in mediation. Stephen is increasingly active as a mediator of community and faith-based disputes. He is currently involved in projects that aim to train a new generation of peacemakers and to use faith-group buildings as places from which community mediation services can operate as neighbourhood reconciliation centres.

Tim Hardy

Exceptionally experienced former City litigator now practising as a full time Independent Mediator.  Regularly appointed to mediate all manner of complex Commercial, Corporate, Investor, Partnership and Financial Disputes such as: A Shareholder Dispute between a private equity fund with a controlling interest in a publicly owned luxury fashion brand and the founder of the brand over the interpretation and enforceability of an agreement to sell the founder’s minority interest Deadlocked Private Company equally owned by the founders who could not agree on the future strategy resolved by a staged redistribution of equity and a split of the business Partnership Dispute between an international firm and a former partner claiming damages for misrepresentation, breach of duty of good faith and duress following an agreed termination on terms, which they subsequently discovered, were less favourable than those offered to others Liquidator and Creditor disputing a substantial proof of debt related to an alleged Carousel VAT fraud perpetrated on the creditor Investors in an African State in dispute relating to a claim for compensation for expropriation of their investments Bank Business Support unit being sued by shareholders of a business financed by the bank and put into liquidation following a financial review of the business undertaken by a firm of accountants allegedly without authority

Tim Bouchier-Hayes

After over 40 years’ experience in private practice, Tim developed a reputation as the most experienced and well-regarded construction lawyer in Ireland. He has dealt with public authorities, developers, architects, engineers, surveyors and builders on all aspects of construction projects and has been consulted by private developers and public authorities in relation to most of the major construction projects undertaken in Ireland over the past three decades.  Since leaving private practice, Tim is now mediating full time both in Ireland and the UK. His practice naturally has a focus on the construction and property sector but, increasingly, he is asked to mediate a wide variety of commercial disputes.