Stephen is an ADR Group Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator (since 2011), an ADR Group Accredited Workplace Mediator (since 2013), and ADR Group Accredited Online Mediator, a Registered Mediator with the Civil Mediation Council, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Member of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators.
Stephen was a judge at the INADR's International Law School Mediation Competitions in in 2023 (at the University of Bologna), in 2020 (a virtual tournament run at Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania), in 2017 (at Strathclyde University), in 2016 (in Athens) and in 2015 (in London). In 2023, 2020 and 2019 Stephen was a judge at the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris. In 2022 and 2021 Stephen was a judge at the ICC International Online Mediation Competition. In 2020 Stephen was also a judge at the ADR ODR International Online Mediation Competition.
In 2020 Stephen studied negotiation with Yale's School of Management and also with MIT. In 2017 Stephen studied at Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiaion. Stephen has studied management courses with London Business School (2020) and Birkbeck College (2020).
Stephen was called as a Barrister in 1998 and admitted as a Solicitor in 2002. Stephen practises as a Consultant Dispute Resolution Solicitor in Northampton and has experience of commercial, contractual, professional negligence, contentious probate, employment, boundary disputes, property and personal injury claims, and has represented clients as a mediation advocate at a variety of mediations. Stephen had previously been a partner and head of litigation at a Northamptonshire based firm of solicitors.
Stephen's broad civil and commercial litigation experience helps him mediate effectively on a wide range of civil and commercial, and workplace, mediations.
Stephen is an experienced litigation Solicitor and Company Director and is able to deal effectively with a broad range of mediations. He has worked in dispute resolution for over 23 years, and combines sound commercial acumen with creative thinking and strong analytical skills. A good listener and an empathetic mediator, Stephen is alert to the personal and emotional issues which often need to be overcome to facilitate a successful long-term resolution to a dispute.
In 2017 Stephen was appointed to the Panel of Chairs of the Valuation Tribunal Service, and regularly hears appeals concerning Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates. In 2023 Stephen was appointed as a Magistrate in the Family Court.