Mark Robinson

I qualified as a mediator after completing the SLS/ Law Society Advanced Dispute Resolution (Mediation) Course in 2004.

I supplemented this training by taking a further course with QuEST Mediation Training May 2016.

The skills of a mediator resonate with the skills deployed in litigation practice. Assessing the strengths and pressure points for clients, what circumstances make settlement critical or desirable, what is the best settlement for a client? What next best alternatives exist? What extra elements of resolution can be achieved outwith the standard discussion re damages?

Confrontational negotiation is very often "old school" whereas calm discussion and exploration are the best approaches to provide each client to a dispute with the best results in a cost effective and speedy manner. An attitude of entrenchment is counterproductive to all sides.

Being a barrister since 1999, I have been involved in an extensive range of litigation across the breadth of civil law practice. Mediation has proved most useful in protracted commercial disputes in which the parties have become entrenched from even pre-proceedings stages.

I was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1999 and Bar of Ireland in 2003.

Specialisms: Extensive practice in civil litigation in the High Court and County Court, Judicial Review, Legacy Inquests and Litigation, Public Inquiries, Medical Negligence, Commercial Law and personal injury.

GLSNI Government Panel A Counsel: instructed by the Crown Solicitor's Office and the Departmental Solicitor's Office.

Appointed to the counsel panel for Health Trusts instructed in relation to Medical Negligence, Inquests, Administrative Law, Commercial Law and Procurement matters.