Stuart Chapman
UK Guide 2025
Band 1 : Mediators
Band 1
About
Provided by Stuart Chapman
Practice Areas
Consistently recommended by Chambers, Legal 500 and the international directory, Who's Who Legal, Stuart enjoys a very busy commercial mediation practice working across the UK and internationally.
Stuart has conducted more than 700 mediations since he began mediating in 2008. He has been consistently recommended by the UK and international directories as a leader in the field of mediation. The legal directories say “He has a very good grasp of the issues and is easy to work with but tough when appropriate. I always find he understands very early on what each party is really looking for.” “He combines tenacity with a really calm manner, and somehow manages to coax people when they want to give up.”
Stuart enjoys mediating across the UK and internationally and has a very broad experience of parties and dispute types. He has mediated disputes involving parties from more than 20 jurisdictions. Areas of practice include,
Agriculture Banking & Finance Charities Commercial Agency Construction & Engineering Corporate and Shareholder Education Employment and Pensions Energy Environmental Franchising Fraud General Commercial Insolvency Insurance and Reinsurance Intellectual Property International Logistics and Transport Neighbour and Boundary Disputes Partnerships Product Liability Professional Negligence Property Public Bodies and Public Law Technology Trusts and Inheritance
Stuart’s background is in commercial dispute resolution and litigation. He qualified as a solicitor with Linklaters in 1991, where he worked until 1994. He was a partner and Head of Litigation in Leeds at Pinsent Masons from 1998 until 2008, when he left practice to become a full-time independent mediator.
As a litigation lawyer Stuart represented a diverse range of clients, national and international, in the UK courts, up to and including the Supreme Court and the Privy Council, in the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and in domestic and international arbitrations as well as in mediations and direct negotiations.
Stuart’s approach is essentially aimed at supporting high-quality decision-making. Sometimes this can involve empathic support, moving people into a more logical way of thinking; sometimes it can involve intellectual challenge, helping people to factor in that which they might have good arguments against but to which they should at least attach weight; sometimes equalising the information each party is considering is key.
Career
Stuart’s background is in commercial dispute resolution and litigation. He qualified as a solicitor with Linklaters in 1991, where he worked until moving to Yorkshire in 1994. He was a partner and Head of Litigation in Leeds at Pinsent Masons from 1998 until 2008, when he left practice to become a full-time independent mediator.
As a litigation lawyer Stuart represented a diverse range of clients, national and international, in the UK courts, up to and including the Supreme Court and the Privy Council, in the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and in domestic and international arbitrations as well as in mediations and direct negotiations.
Professional Memberships
Fellow of the CMC
Publications
Stuart is enthusiastic about sharing experiences with lawyers and clients about mediation and more recently about remote mediation, including dry-runs and demonstrations. Stuart is happy to deliver training and share thoughts remotely through platforms such as Zoom.
Stuart frequently delivers seminars on various mediation topics to law firms.
Industry Sector Expertise
A brief overview of areas of practice:
Banking / Finance
Charities
Commercial Agency
Commercial contracts
Commercial fraud / Fraud
Company shareholders
Competition
Construction / Engineering
Employment
Energy
Environmental
Franchise
Group actions
Insolvency
I.T.
Insurance / reinsurance
Intellectual Property
International
Local and national government
Partnerships
Pensions
Probate / Trusts / Estates
Product Liability
Professional negligence
Property
Sport
Transport / logistics
Chambers Review
UK
Stuart Chapman of Independent Mediators enjoys a healthy reputation for his abilities mediating domestic and international commercial disputes. His broad practice incorporates experience in company law, intellectual property and professional negligence claims, among others.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Stuart is a go-to mediator. He has a charming bedside manner but knows when to put his foot down."
"He is very much one of the top mediators. The experience in him shows and he is very good at managing expectations. He approaches things in a clever way and navigates people to the right solution."
"He's a pleasure to work with. I was confident he would go the extra mile calmly and professionally to try to make sure a deal was reached."
"Stuart is a go-to mediator. He has a charming bedside manner but knows when to put his foot down."
"He is very much one of the top mediators. The experience in him shows and he is very good at managing expectations. He approaches things in a clever way and navigates people to the right solution."
"He's a pleasure to work with. I was confident he would go the extra mile calmly and professionally to try to make sure a deal was reached."
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