accreditations & partnerships
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We are delighted to announce that 26 of our panel members have been recognised by Legal 500 as leading mediators in the UK. Two of our members, Anthony Glaister and Rebecca Clark have made it into the directory for the first time. Others have moved up the rankings - Charles Middleton-Smith is now ranked in Band 1 and Liz Birch has moved from Band 3 to 2. Charles Flint QC and Jane Player have moved from Band 4 to 3.
In addition, Denise O'Connor has been recognised as one to watch in her listing as the only Next Generation Lawyer in the list.
Such recognition reaffirms our place as the provider of highly experienced and effective mediators. With such expertise we can guarantee you a choice of top quality mediators with no need for our clients to make any calls elsewhere.
What Legal 500 2017 says about our mediators:
‘Recommended for disputes when tension and emotions are running high’, In Place of Strife’s Mark Jackson-Stops is ‘held in high regard; he has a very endearing character and style which give the impression that he is looking after everyone’s interests to achieve a fair result’. Others report Jackson-Stops to be ‘an excellent mediator who brings calm and straight talking to difficult situations; he is also great with clients and can be tough when necessary’. Regularly mediating between 70-80 cases a year, Jackson-Stops is highly rated for disputes involving professional negligence, property and construction, as well as insurance, probate and inheritance, financial services (including mis-selling) and commercial contracts.
A full-time mediator since 2005, Jon Lang of In Place of Strife is ‘a heavyweight mediator, who has an unassuming demeanour, but this belies his toughness, resilience, and commitment to the mediation process; he always works hard to ensure the parties maximise the opportunity to settle and his approach is very effective’. Lang has a wide practice but is regularly instructed in mediations from the IP and IT sectors, as well as construction and engineering claims, shareholder and probate disputes, and general commercial matters.
In Place of Strife
’s
‘
performs his role with great professionalism, calmness and focus
;
he is informative and acts fairly and skilfully to bring parties to nuanced and novel resolutions
’. His specialisms include arts, media and entertainment; financial services; M&A; inheritance; and general commercial, contract and sale of goods. Representative experience includes mediating an asset-finance case regarding commercial agreements; a dispute over an agreement for international film production; and an international high-value joint venture dispute, involving the development of a contemporary art business.
of Serle Court is ‘
innovative, intelligent and thoughtful in moving parties towards settlement
’; Rogers is a full-time mediator, whose practice is recommended for Chancery disputes, including trusts, probate, company, partnership and property matters. She also mediates commercial, professional negligence and employment disputes; and has experience of multi-party and cross-cultural disputes, including mediations in the Far East and the Middle East. Rogers recently mediated a shareholder dispute with several related parties, which involved a high-value property company and required consideration of share valuation, tax, corporate structure and trust issues. She is also at
In Place of Strife
.
Brick Court Chambers’ Stephen Ruttle QC, who is also at In Place of Strife, is in ‘the top rank of mediators’. Ruttle has mediated approximately 1,200 cases to date, and a large proportion of his work is international in nature. Most of his mediations take place in London, but he regularly mediates elsewhere in the UK and Ireland, and has mediated in the US, Greece, the Gulf, the Caribbean and Hong Kong. Ruttle is well known for mediating large shipping disputes; but his practice also covers oil and gas, banking, insurance and reinsurance, and professional negligence claims. Other areas of note are construction, employment, corporate matters, and general commercial disputes.
(Independent) is ‘
an experienced mediator for high-end commercial disputes, and he is sought-after with good reason - his relaxed and pragmatic manner is popular with clients, and disarms parties that are intent on being aggressive for the sake of it; and he understands that mediations are about building a deal and not arguing legal points
’. Smith is recommended for large and complicated mediations that are often multi-party; recent highlights include mediating a dispute involving financial management and distribution issues and profit shares, following the financing of a major feature film.
The ‘incredibly creative and effective’ Patrick Walker (Independent)’s ‘obvious emotional intelligence allows him to keep the parties engaged, whilst at the same time testing the issues so as to really move matters on; he has a range of techniques which he uses to encourage parties to see their cases from a different perspective, while at the same time encouraging them to bridge the gaps’. Walker is well known for property litigation, including compulsory purchase, rights to light, flooding claims, and fraud and loan agreements, but he has broadened his practice to include professional negligence, construction, share purchase, M&A, and trusts and probate disputes, as well as pharmaceutical and commercial contract matters.
at Brick Court Chambers is also an
In Place of Strife
member. He has conducted over 1,000 mediations to date; beyond the UK, he has mediated in New York, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Romania, Guernsey, Jersey, the Republic of Ireland, and the Bahamas. Willis’ practice covers professional negligence; shareholder, partnership and M&A disputes; pensions; IT; employment; and family trusts. Other areas include insolvency, tax, charity, oil and gas, civil engineering and construction, insurance, and reinsurance.
‘A first choice for difficult cases’, 3 Verulam Buildings’ Elizabeth Birch, also of In Place of Strife, is ‘a superb mediator, who is well prepared, commercially minded, and quickly develops the trust and confidence of all participants, facilitating settlements through tact, charm and perseverance.’ Mediating commercial and international disputes since 1995, Birch is particularly focused on maritime, commercial, and insurance and reinsurance disputes, which are frequently complex, high-value and cross-border.
joined
In Place of Strife
’s panel in 2011. Chapman’s ‘
preparation for mediations is extremely thorough, as he has an excellent grasp of the details and arguments in cases, which helps throughout the day; he is approachable and professional from the start, and has tremendous patience, tenacity and calm authority, which is exactly what clients need from a good mediator
’. Recent experience includes mediating claims involving banking and finance, employment law, probate issues, contractual disputes and pension matters.
In Place of Strife
’s
is ‘
well prepared, has a good manner with clients, and comes across as having credibility
’. Fitton facilitated approximately 40 high-value commercial mediations in 2016, the most active practice areas being professional indemnity, financial services pensions, insolvency, and high-value commercial disputes. Highlights included a tracing claim by the liquidators of a collapsed hedge fund.
at
In Place of Strife
is ‘
an excellent mediator, who is calm, friendly and tends to put the various parties, including the lawyers, at their ease
’. A specialist in corporate and commercial matters and employment claims, his mediation experience also includes banking and financial services, construction and engineering, and inheritance disputes. In addition, Kershen has mediated insurance, IP, manufacturing, media, partnership, professional negligence, property, and shareholding cases.
Undertaking 71 mediations in 2016, Alistair Pye at In Place of Strife is ‘not slow to roll his sleeves up and get straight into the issues at the heart of the matter; he is straight talking, and his approach is key in difficult mediations where emotional issues hold the parties back from resolution’. Pye is a construction and engineering specialist, whose wide practice includes complex neighbour disputes and high-value, multi-party, insurance-backed construction claims.
In Place of Strife
’s
’s ‘
mediation approach is focused on building relationships, and he is vastly experienced
’. Richbell is originally from a construction background, has over 20 years’ experience as a mediator, and is particularly well known for the mediation of construction and engineering disputes; he also mediates a range of high-value, high-emotion, high-complexity conflicts in other areas of the law.
at
In Place of Strife
mediates a wide range of commercial disputes and employment-related matters, including discrimination and dismissal issues; Bucklow has notable expertise in transport, IT and financial services claims, as well as disputes involving regulated sectors.
At In Place of Strife, the ‘very active’ Michael Cover’s specialist dispute areas include IP and IT; competition and regulatory matters; insurance; pharmaceutical; international contracts and trading; major projects; and energy.
Blackstone Chambers’ Charles Flint QC’s mediation work is predominantly focused on financial services and regulatory matters, and he has mediated internationally in Thailand, Hong Kong and Africa. Flint also mediates significant environmental claims; and he recently assisted with fine art disputes. He is also a member of the specialist panel of international mediators at Jams International.
at
In Place of Strife
‘
deals with mediations excellently; he has an excellent style, asks the right questions, and puts a good amount of work into the pre-mediation period and pre-meetings with the parties, which very much helps on the day
’. Hildebrand acts in a range of commercial, contractual and private client disputes; and has a specialist entertainment industry and creative businesses practice, mediating approximately 10-15 entertainment or sports-related cases a year. He also assists with early-stage mediation, particularly between business partners and family members.
In Place of Strife
’s
is ‘
very balanced and measured in his approach, and he inspires confidence in the parties with his relaxed style, while remaining positive and creative in his approach
’. Linnell is regularly instructed on disputes involving commercial agreements; engineering; IT; financial services; insurance; media; and construction. He also increasingly mediates cases relating to fraud, insolvency, professional negligence, and property and planning, as well as family matters concerning estates or contested probates.
(Independent) ‘
successfully mediates disputes in a calm and rational manner; in addition to considerable legal acumen, she has very impressive people skills
’. Player recently retired from King & Spalding LLP to become a full-time independent mediator; she is frequently instructed in technology and IP disputes, but she also has a general commercial disputes practice, which recently included government party disputes arising out of infrastructure projects and defence matters.
at
In Place of Strife
mediates a wide variety of disputes, including business and partnership disputes; joint venture conflicts; trusts; and employment cases. Other areas of note include medical negligence; and property and construction.
In Place of Strife
’s
is ‘
an excellent mediator, with a very wide and diverse skill set; she also has incredible personal skills, which she brings to the process
’. Rivers is recommended for workplace and employment law disputes, including bullying and harassment, discrimination, and partnership issues.
at
In Place of Strife
is ‘
undoubtedly one to watch; she has a calm, understated manner and is extremely bright
’. Clark is particularly noted for financial services disputes.
at
In Place of Strife
is ‘
an experienced mediator, who has a down-to-earth, practical approach and is not afraid to explore unusual ideas to promote settlement
’.
at Blackstone Chambers is a mediator who has specialist expertise in public law, regulatory matters and utilities. Shaw is also a member of
In Place of Strife
.