Leading mediation players set annual forum for ADR

An exclusive club of 17 mediators met last week in a stately home for what could develop into a permanent forum for top-brass dispute settlers.Among the group, which met at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, were: former Clifford Chance partner Tony Willis, now a full-time mediator; Phillip Howell-Richardson, senior partner of M4 firm Morgan Cole and chair of the ADR Group; Bill Marsh, executive director of the Centre for Dispute Resolution; US mediator David Shapiro; and solicitor QC Arthur Marriott, a partner at the London office of US firm Debevoise & Plimpton.The event, now expected to be held annually, aims to bring together leading figures in mediation to share experiences, exchange views, and discuss developments and methods.The meeting was organised by mediation company In Place of Strife.

Chief executive Mark Jackson-Stops said it was designed to be a club for senior mediators, and was incredibly successful.Another member, Henry Brown, a mediator and partner at Penningtons, said it was useful because it was essential to canvass ideas of mutual interest to mediators away from any party lines.He said the meeting could be developed into a forum for the discussion of more controversial mediation policy, such as whether mediation should be compulsory in some circumstances, and whether the role of mediators should be more evaluative or stand-off.Meanwhile, two more alternative dispute resolution bodies have sprung up.

The Adjudication Panel, opening in London and Hong Kong, claims to be the first in either jurisdiction to provide binding documentary determination of commercial, property and negligence disputes.

Sir David Calcutt QC is a vice-president.Meanwhile, the Communications Management Association has launched the Institute for Communications Arbitration and Forensics to act as a focal point for best practice in IT security, and as a dispute resolution centre for cyber-crime-related disputes.

Jeremy Fleming