A Seat at the Table: The Role of Mediation at LIDW25
A Seat at the Table: The Role of Mediation at LIDW25
Mediation had a strong presence at London International Disputes Week 2025, with discussions ranging from international settlement and advocacy to cross-sector collaboration. Events across the week offered fresh perspectives and practical insights into how mediation is developing in the UK and internationally. Here are some of the highlights.
KEY MEDIATION MOMENTS FROM LIDW25
London International Disputes Week 2025 brought together more than 10,000 delegates across five days of discussion, insight and innovation in the disputes field. Mediation featured prominently on this year’s programme, with a range of events exploring its evolving role across different areas of practice. The CMC was pleased to contribute to several of these conversations.
CMC Chair Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho joined a well-attended session at 39 Essex Chambers, co-hosted with the CMC and CEDR, examining how mediation, arbitration and litigation can work more effectively together. Panellists Grace Cheng, Marie Sparkes (LCIA), Graham Massie and Joe Tirado brought a wide range of perspectives, with the discussion moderated by Andy Rogers.
Kelly also took part in a lively panel on improving settlement, co-hosted by CMC, CEDR and 39 Essex Chambers. The session, chaired by Andy Rogers, featured contributions from Mr Justice Waksman, Sarah Ellington, Wolf von Kumberg and Tat Lim (IMI), who explored developments and challenges in achieving resolution in international mediation.
Reflecting on the event Andy Rogers said: “One of my personal highlights of LIDW2025 was chairing CEDR’s session on Improving Settlement in International Mediation. It brought together thoughtful voices like Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho, Wolf von Kumberg, Mr Justice Waksman, Sarah Ellington & Tat Lim — and what emerged was a refreshingly practical, no-nonsense conversation about how we improve outcomes in real cross-border disputes.”
He shared a story that stayed with him: “15 years ago, a senior partner at a major firm told me bluntly that he never even suggested mediation to clients from Russia and the CIS. ‘They come to London to fight, not talk,’ he said. That mindset left no room for alternatives.
Thankfully, that view is increasingly rare. Today, London has rules that support settlement, a more developed mediation culture, and growing institutional backing. But culture shift takes time — and we must keep educating, advocating, and showing what mediation can really deliver.”
Elsewhere during the week, IPOS Mediation, alongside 3 Hare Court Chambers, hosted a discussion on mediation advocacy at the IDRC. Speakers David Owen, Jon Lang, Nikki Edwards and Charlotte Pope-Williams (ACIArb) shared practical reflections on the mediator’s role and how advocates can support resolution through the process.
Another notable session at 4PB, organised by The Bar Council of England and Wales and others, focused on neutral evaluation in family and commercial disputes. Led by Laura Tweedy, the discussion featured family practitioners Rhys Taylor, Nicholas Allen KC and Andrew Day, with Andrew Goodman sharing his thoughts on the possibility of more evaluation in commercial mediation.
Henrietta Jackson-Stops, CMC Board Member and LIDW Co-Chair, reflected on the debate: “In my practice I help/challenge the parties with their own evaluation of their cases – I do not think they need me, as mediator, to provide my own evaluation.”
CMC organisation member Independent Mediators Ltd also played a key role by organising two notable hybrid sessions during the week, one exploring the realities of Investor/State mediation with a panel chaired by Lord Neuberger and featuring Frauke Nitschke, Amal Bouchenaki, Ximena Carolina Bustamante Vasconez, and Bill Marsh; and another focusing on the practical challenges of mediating complex intellectual property disputes, including insights from Peter Brownlow, Heike Wollgast, Jane Player, and Michael Silverleaf KC.
IPOS Mediation held an event with HCR Law and hosted by No5 Barristers’ Chambers on collaborative solutions in insolvency disputes. The event brought together Charlotte May, Tim Hardy FCIArb, Alex Wild and Alexander Heylin for a practical conversation on mediation’s place in insolvency contexts.
Reflecting on the week, Hetti remarked: “LIDW23 brought 4000 people to London. LIDW24 had 8000 people register. And today we round off the week with over 10,000 individual delegates who have signed up to at least one event in the last 5 days – many have attended many more than one. We promised a bigger and better LIDW and I think we delivered.”
With strong attendance and thoughtful contributions across the board, this year’s LIDW underlined both the depth of interest in mediation and the importance of collaboration across the disputes spectrum. The CMC was glad to be part of this ongoing conversation and looks forward to supporting further progress as we head towards LIDW26.
Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho is a CEDR-accredited mediator and barrister and Chair of the CMC. Kelly was counsel, led by Edwin Glasgow KC, to the CMC, CEDR and Ciarb in the recent landmark case Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil. Prior to her tenancy at 39 Essex Chambers, Kelly was a solicitor in a US headquartered law firm in London where she was involved in litigation at every level. She was a blue-book stagiare at the European Commission, a judicial assistant to the Court of Appeal, and taught on the LLM course at King’s College London and the LLB at Birkbeck, together for over 10 years. She is ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
Henrietta Jackson-Stops is a Partner at IPOS Mediation, CMC Board Member and Co-Chair of LIDW25. She mediates a wide range of civil and commercial disputes alongside her role in running and managing IPOS. Henrietta has a particular interest in disputes involving family businesses, trusts and relationships and those with a public law element. Henrietta’s career began as a litigator at Allen & Overy, she became a full-time mediator in 2016. IPOS is a registered mediation provider director of the CMC.
Andy Rogers is a Trustee and Board Director of the CMC and part of the Executive Team at CEDR, working with clients and members, monitoring standards and liaising with industry, government and the media on behalf of the organisation. He is also a practicing mediator, and has consulted on numerous ADR projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Prior to joining CEDR, he was a Senior Communications Account Director in two public relations consultancies.
