Independent Mediators are very proud to announce that all ten of our members have been listed in the top tiers of the mediators section in the new edition of Legal 500 released in October 2023. This is a tremendous achievement for all.
We are delighted with the rankings and are extremely grateful to all our instructing solicitors and clients for their support in helping us to both achieve and maintain them.
Full listings for each of our Mediators can be found below. You can also click through to the mediators individual page (click on their name) to download their CV and see more information.
Stuart Chapman ‘shows a high degree of empathy, but with sufficient steel to challenge views in order to get the parties to accept the reality of their respective positions‘. Chapman’s practice covers a broad range of practice areas, including general commercial, construction and insolvency disputes, along with insurance, partnership, professional negligence and shareholder claims. A former partner and head of litigation in Pinsent Masons LLP‘ Leeds office, Chapman has handled over 650 mediations since he began mediating in 2008.
Rebecca Clark is described as ‘one of the best mediators I have come across in over 20 years practice at the Bar. She is on top of her brief, and understanding yet firm with the parties‘. Clark mediates a wide range of commercial disputes, but is particularly well known for her financial services expertise and disputes involving SMEs. In addition to being appointed as a member of the Court of Appeal specialist mediator panel in October 2021, Clark became the Chair of the Civil Mediation Council in June 2022, the first female mediator and non-judicial holder of such office.
Phillip Howell-Richardson ‘has great empathy with the parties. He is able to convey to them that he is invested in the outcome of their dispute, building trust and confidence‘. A full-time independent mediator since 2005, Howell-Richardson’s recent experience includes the mediation of commercial contract claims, and international disputes involving governments, companies and individuals, as well as finance, banking and insurance disputes. Additional areas of strength include professional negligence claims, and mediations concerning insolvency, engineering, oil and gas, IP, and property. Of the cases that Howell-Richardson mediated during 2022/23, claim values ranged from tens of thousands of pounds, to tens of millions of pounds, along with a mega-value claim for between $3bn and $4bn.
Kate Jackson is ‘One of the very best mediators around‘, ‘she quickly gains the trust of parties with her friendly approach. Her calm manner, keen intellect and common-sense pragmatism, mixed with quiet steeliness (when necessary), help resolve disputes that appear intractable‘. Qualified as a lawyer both in England & Wales and New York, Jackson recently mediated over 40 high-value, complex commercial mediations, including multi-party and multi-day mediations. In addition to her thriving commercial mediation practice, Jackson mediates specialist areas, such as media, sports, art, aviation, trusts and online gambling; and of the cases that she mediated in 2022/23, the claim values ranged from hundreds of thousands of pounds to £800m.
Michel Kallipetis KC has been appointed in approximately 1430 mediations since joining Independent Mediators, is ‘practical and has the gravitas to compel clients to consider the upsides and downsides of litigation seriously. This is invaluable in mediation settings, particularly when emotions are running high‘. The former head of Littleton Chambers, Kallipetis mediates a wide range of disputes, in relation to partnerships banking, insurance and re-insurance, employment claims and pension rights, and solicitors and valuers’ negligence. Other areas of strength are medical negligence, personal injury, and construction, engineering and commercial disputes; and several of Kallipetis’ mediations are multi-party disputes, while some involve international companies and the laws of other countries.
Jonathan Lloyd-Jones qualified as a commercial mediator in 1991, he ‘earns the trust of parties quickly and retains warmth and humour. He doesn’t give up‘. Lloyd-Jones has been appointed in over 850 mediations during his mediation career, his practice particularly focused on professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants, architects, surveyors, IFAs and insurance brokers. He is also experienced in claims for fraud-based restitution, breaches of restrictive covenants by departing employees, insolvency disputes, and construction and property matters. Lloyd-Jones’ career also includes serving on the ADR Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales for six years.
Mark Lomas KC has been appointed in approximately 1105 mediations since joining Independent Mediators as a full-time mediator in 2009, he has the ‘ability to grasp the key issues quickly and encourage the parties to consider both the strengths and the weaknesses of their case‘. Other clients appreciate Lomas for being ‘thorough, calm, personable, and hugely experienced‘. An accredited mediator since 2001, Lomas averages approximately 70-80 mediations a year; and his recent mediation work includes disputes involving professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants, architects, financial advisers, and insurance brokers, as well as claims concerning insurance, probate, property, trusts, commercial matters, and insolvency.
Bill Marsh has the ‘ability to engage with difficult personalities and maintain a pragmatic and holistic approach‘. A full-time mediator since 1991, Marsh’s busy mediation practice covers a broad range of commercial disputes, including commercial contracts, product liability, insurance, professional negligence, and shareholder issues. His experience further extends to sports, medical negligence, pensions, IT and shipping-related mediations. Marsh also maintains a robust international practice that incorporates parties from over 30 countries, including India, France, Canada, US, Switzerland and Spain; and he is founding director of consulting firm Conflict Management International, through which he has worked with over twenty governments on dispute resolution issues.
Andrew Paton is ‘particularly good at understanding the drivers and personal motivations, and targeting them to resolve the issue‘. A former partner at Pinsent Masons LLP, Paton has mediated approximately 1360 mediations to date; and during 2022 he handled over 65 cases, more than half of which concerned professional negligence claims against solicitors, barristers, accountants, architects, engineers, surveyors, financial advisors and insurance brokers. An accredited mediator since 1990 and former chairman of the Association of Midland Mediators, Paton is also highly active in relation to construction disputes, with the balance of his practice split between disputes over insurance, property, shareholders, torts, Trusts, and commercial issues.
Jane Player A mediator since 2001, Jane’s ‘manner is perfect for making parties see the sense in settling a case. She is not overbearing, but she does emphasise the real issues inherent in the parties’ respective cases’. Appointed directly by corporations and in-house counsel, as well by law firms, Player’s practice covers general corporate and contractual claims, fraud and project-related disputes, as well as Pharma, energy, technology, IP, and media-related claims. With notable experience in international dispute resolution, Player is also widely respected for her management of the cross-cultural aspects of joint venture and international shareholder conflicts.