Elaina is an experienced commercial litigator who has acted on a number of high-profile and ground-breaking cases in the High Court and in leading offshore jurisdictions, including Cayman and BVI.
Elaina acts for companies, financial institutions, states and state-entities and high net worth individuals on a wide range of high-value commercial disputes. Her main practice areas include contentious insolvency and asset recovery, commercial aviation disputes, banking and securities litigation and commercial disputes relating to sanctions

Neil is a highly experienced commercial leader with a background in construction, having spent over twenty years with tier 1 contractors in the UK, including Skanska, Laing O’Rourke and Shepherd. Neil qualified as a meditator with the RICS in 2016 before gaining accreditation with CEDR in 2022 and now practices mediation across the UK. Neil is a well-respected Adjudicator, sitting on the President’s panels for the Ciarb and RICS, amongst others. Neil is also an Arbitrator, Expert Determiner and Expert Witness.

Neil has a wide range of experience in managing and avoiding disputes in domestic and international commercial arrangements with a particular expertise in construction related matters. Neil is Chair of the North East Branch of the Ciarb and actively promotes the use of alternative dispute resolution in Yorkshire and the North East.

Alexis is a solicitor qualified in England and Wales and joined Ciarb in September 2022. She started her career in 2004, at silver-circle law firm, Berwin Leighton Paisner (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner), and has since worked for a range of charities, membership organisations and a regulator.

Rebecca is a talented, well-respected mediator and is also Chair of the Civil Mediation Council. Listed in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 as a Leading Mediator, Rebecca is particularly commended for her calm and empathetic style, combined with robust legal or commercial challenge where needed. Described as “superb,” “outstanding” and “a credit to her profession,” she encourages parties to take a risk-based approach to actively manage conflict and disputes, whilst managing difficult conversations with sensitivity and insight.

Prior to becoming a mediator, Rebecca was Head of Litigation at a so-called “bad bank” where she was awarded Legal Counsel of the Year 2013, partly as a result of her novel approach to resolving classes of disputes by mediation. As a result, Rebecca’s insight into mediation as a mediating party is unparalleled. Before working in-house, Rebecca set up and managed her own retail business from set up to sale, giving her a genuine understanding of the pressures of owning and managing your own business and the impact disputes can have on the financial management of a company. She has also worked as a solicitor in private practice.

Rebecca mediates a wide range of commercial disputes including shareholder, insolvency, warranty claims, breach of contract and breach of duty. Because of her previous employment, Rebecca is particularly experienced in financial services, professional negligence and regulatory litigation. She is also sought after for her SME and family business mediation experience, where her ability to connect inter-generationally with parties to a dispute, combined with her own business experience, helps move parties towards resolution. Most recently, Rebecca has worked with parties to develop dispute avoidance strategies, facilitating discussions and devising processes for projects in the investment fund management, manufacturing and recruitment industries. She is also on the Court of Appeal mediation scheme panel.

Rebecca is very interested in the psychology of mediation and negotiation generally and regularly speaks at seminars and conferences on the subject.

Catherine joined Ciarb as Director General in May 2020 having set the world record for circumnavigation of the world on a tandem. Prior to setting her world record, Catherine spent time in Chief Executive Officer roles at the Law Society of England and Wales, a Higher and Further Education College and at NHS Resolution. Catherine has also held Senior Executive Director and General Counsel roles at the NSPCC and BUPA and in Canada at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

Catherine started her professional career in private practice as a solicitor, at Eversheds Sutherland and was an Officer in the British Army. Catherine has served as a trustee and non-executive director on a number of boards, including the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), Queens Counsel Appointments, LawWorks, National Pro Bono Centre, the PDSA, the Yorkshire and Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, the Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Landex and was the Deputy Chair of the IBA LGBTQI Committee. Catherine is currently a trustee of Stonewall and a member of the Advisory Board of the Open University. Catherine is a solicitor and accredited mediator and has a MBA.

Isabel Phillips is the Director of ADR and Mediation Development at Ciarb. She is a conflict specialist and mediator with over 20 years of experience. She joined the full-time staff of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators at the start of 2021. She brings global experience in the application of complementary application of different forms of ADR, and the development of the skills and knowledge of those working in and with conflict and disputes.

Isabel’s mediation experience encompasses a wide range of domestic and international commercial disputes including construction, commercial contract, and employment disputes. She has designed, delivered, and evaluated interactive conflict training and dispute systems design for governments, IGOs, NGOs and commercial businesses across four continents. She has also spent five years working on conflict and disputes in deep-field, fragile and post-conflict environments including Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ethiopia.

Isabel is a qualified ‘Peace Specialist’ (Friedensfachkraft, AGQ 2000) a CEDR accredited mediator (2003), and was awarded her PhD (University of Bradford, 2017) on the theory and practice of mediation in commercial and socio-political contexts.

Jarlath is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Member of SCSI and RICS. Jarlath established Elemental Contract Consultants Limited in 2013 and provides professional services as arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator, expert, and party advisor on a wide range of construction disputes across Ireland and the UK.

Jarlath is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and Accredited Adjudicator and a Certified Mediator and acts as Arbitrator, Adjudicator or Mediator in construction and commercial matters. Jarlath is a member of the Minister’s Panel of Adjudicators in Ireland and is also a member of Society of Chartered Surveyors and Ciarb panel of adjudicators. 

Jarlath is the regional chair of the Ciarb NI Chapter and Adjudication Society.

Andy is a member of the Leadership 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 lead mediation trainer and practicing mediator, having worked on a large number of disputes across varied sectors from the purely commercial to those with highly personal and emotional issues. His clients range from private individuals through to multinational organisations. Andy is a Trustee and Board Director of the Civil Mediation Council of England and Wales, where he co-chairs the Standards and Registration Committee. Andy is also a Trustee and Board Director of the International Mediation Institute, headquartered in the Netherlands. He has worked on and led projects in Canada, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Germany, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.