Mr Hugh Elder

"We would like to thank you for mediating, your demeanour and skills helped us to work with you towards a positive resolution that enables us to move on" Litigant in Person

"Hugh Elder is a fantastic mediator and helped drive the parties towards settlement" Solicitor 

"We were in a very sticky place. I have settled for something I would have not gone anywhere near before the mediation. Hugh's best skill was opening my mind to the option of drawing a line under this and getting on with my work. Specifically this was achieved by not trying to convince me too much, rather placing options on the table allowing me to see more clearly the ramifications of whichever path I chose. By not convincing me, I feel far more comfortable with the outcome as I feel I made that decision myself rather than be coerced in any way and then suffer from 'buyer's remorse' after." Party to mediation (company director)

A civil and commercial mediator with over 40 years experience as a solicitor.  Based in Central London, but ready to mediate anywhere in the UK at no additional cost or online via Zoom.  

You can benefit from my 40+ years' experience as a solicitor in dispute resolution: litigation, arbitration and mediation, especially in the fields of:

• contract and other commercial disputes, including competition;
• employment;
• inheritance disputes and other probate and trust issues;
• landlord & tenant, dilapidations, boundary and other property disputes including TOLATA claims;
• professional negligence claims; compliance and costs issues within the legal profession;
• shareholder and partnership disputes.

Other reasons to appoint me as your mediator:

* Qualified as a solicitor in 1973 and engaged continuously in full-time practice until retirement in August 2017. 

* A firm believer in the merits of mediation as part of the dispute resolution process.

* Represented numerous clients as a solicitor at mediations over 20 years. Now mediating on my own account; completed more than 20 mediations.

* Accredited as a mediator by CEDR in 2015; registered with, and panel member of, the Civil Mediation Council.  Also a registered member of CEDR adjudication panel (consumer disputes).

* President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association from 1998 to 2000 at the time of the Woolf Reforms, which encouraged and incentivised litigants to mediate.

* Managing partner of Gordon Dadds, with which firm I spent most of my career, from 2003 to 2013.

* Acutely aware of commercial pressures and demands on those running businesses and the need to find a realistic and workable solution to time-consuming and expensive disputes without just papering over cracks.

* Advised numerous private individuals unaccustomed to being involved with the legal system, developing a reputation for guiding them through an unfamiliar process with tact and sensitivity.

* An approachable facilitative style encouraging parties to work together, while (in private, confidential meetings) using my experience to help each party undertake a realistic appraisal of the merits of their case.  

* I prepare thoroughly and work hard with parties to help bring about a resolution with which they can live, and then move on.

On a personal note I have been married even longer than I was a solicitor, with two grown-up children and four grandchildren. When not working or spending time with the family, I enjoy choral singing, golf, walking and cooking.