Our Wessex Mediators

Our Wessex Mediators

Paul Cairnes

Paul Cairnes is an experienced civil barrister specializing in planning law and litigation. His litigation practice includes disputes involving land, trusts and restitutionary claims. Paul has conducted over 100 mediations in diverse civil disputes including contracts, wills, trusts, partnerships and property related matters. He is a member of PEBA

Iain Christie

Called in 1989, Iain is a former Diplomatic Service legal adviser specialising in human rights and international negotiations. He now practices media law, but has wide experience of most aspects of civil and commercial law. Iain mediates in a wide range of disputes, including contract, negligence, landlord & tenant, inheritance, sale of goods and neighbour disputes.

John Corben

John is an experienced mediator specialising in all types of property related disputes, including valuation, landlord & tenant and building defects. Qualified in 1992, he has been actively involved in ADR since that time. John lectures in mediation & arbitration, dealing with some 40 or so cases each year.

Susie Dryden

Susie qualified in 1985, is a Partner at Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons Solicitors and a CEDR accredited mediator. As well as handling a broad range of commercial cases and professional negligence cases, she has litigated disputes arising out of IT contracts, financial lease agreements, software and services agreements, partnership agreements, agency agreements and employment contracts. Recent cases resolved at mediation (acting as mediator) include a dispute between an employment agency and a solicitor, a dispute between a landlord and a letting agent and a dispute arising from the sale and purchase of a second hand car.

Susie is a founder member of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers and is an Intervention Agent for the Solicitors Regulation Authority

Gary Grant

Gary is an experienced civil Barrister. Principal areas of practice now involve acting for and against Government bodies, specifically on planning issues. He has many years experience of civil litigation, including the whole range of personal injury litigation. An accredited mediator, Gary has mediated civil disputes involving property and contracts.

Kay Linnell

Kay is a forensic accountant Director of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP and deals with commercial disputes, breach of contract, personal injury, professional negligence, matrimonial and criminal matters. She is a Chartered Arbitrator, a CEDR accredited Mediator and has experience in specialist commercial matters including share valuations, insurance claims, management consultancy, corporate recovery, fraud investigations, forensic reconstruction and tax investigations.

Derek Marshall

Derek qualified as a Barrister in 1980 and has practised in Southampton continuously since then. He is now the Deputy Head of his Chambers. He has a wide civil and commercial practice which includes contract disputes, personal injury claims, disputes between landowners and insolvency cases.

He is a member of the Professional Negligence Bar Association and the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates. He is a very experienced Mediator and has mediated numerous building disputes and other contract claims, as well as boundary disputes, partnership cases and inheritance claims. Derek also regularly acts as an advocate in cases which proceed to Mediation.

Mary Siddall

Mary is a solicitor who specialises in employment law. She became an accredited mediator in January 2005 and has experience in dealing with all types of workplace issues as well as general commercial and community disputes. Mary is involved with the co-ordination of a mediation scheme within her place of work and was a member of the steering group looking at the setting up of a mediation service at Southampton county court, before changes in policy led to that proposal being abandoned. She is a member of the Civil Mediation Council and a volunteer mediator with NFS mediation.