Mark Lomas KC

Practice Areas

Mark is one of the UK’s leading mediators with a wide-ranging commercial practice and a recognised expertise in high-value professional negligence and insurance disputes. He is ranked in Band 1 of both Legal 500 (who describe him as “highly effective”) and Chambers & Partners (who commend him for his “strong technical and commercial analysis and diplomatic style”).

Mark became an Accredited Mediator with ADR Group in 2001; he was a Panel Member and Registered Mediator with Littleton Dispute Resolution Services Limited from 2001 to 2009. He ceased practice as an advocate to devote his full time to mediation in June 2009 when he joined Independent Mediators.

Mark joined Independent Mediators in 2009 and his practice covers a wide variety of disputes in all areas of law. They range in value from multimillions to tens of thousands of pounds in areas including commercial contract, insurance, common law, construction, probate and trusts, but with a particular emphasis on professional negligence disputes involving solicitors, barristers, accountants, financial advisers, insurance brokers, surveyors and architects. The emphasis on commercial, professional negligence and insurance cases follows his many years of specialisation in those fields while in practice as a junior and a silk.

He has been listed for some years in the top tier of mediators in the UK section of both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, the well known international legal directories. Past comments include: His manner is ‘amiable, polished and gentlemanly. He has a good sense of humour, and clients enjoy his company’. He nevertheless ‘asks tough questions, forces confrontation of issues’, and wins confidence through a ‘phenomenal grasp of detail’. Strategically he has demonstrated outstanding creativity with great ‘persistence and resilience’.

Solicitors say he has ‘a huge amount of legal experience’ and ‘a clear grasp of complex issues with the right level of persuasion’, and describe his approach as ‘confident and always in control; helpful, no nonsense, and all with a touch of humour’.

Mark was called to the English Bar in 1977 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 2003; he practiced as junior and leading counsel at the Commercial and Common Law Bar for over 30 years with a particular specialisation in Professional Liability and Insurance.

Mark has been mediating regularly since 2001, in combination with continuing practice at the commercial and common law bar. Since taking silk in 2003 mediation made up an increasing part of his overall practice, combined with the conduct of a number of large cases in the High Court. In June 2009 Mark ceased practice as an advocate to devote his full time to mediation and arbitration.

Career

Mark was called to the English Bar in 1977 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003; he practiced as junior and leading counsel at the Commercial and Common Law Bar for over 30 years with a particular specialisation in Professional Liability and Insurance.

He became an Accredited Mediator with ADR Group in 2001; he was a Panel Member and Registered Mediator with Littleton Dispute Resolution Services Limited from 2001 to 2009; he joined Independent Mediators as a full-time mediator in June 2009.

Mark has been mediating regularly since 2001, in combination with continuing practice at the commercial and common law bar. Since taking silk in 2003 mediation made up an increasing part of his overall practice, combined with the conduct of a number of large cases in the High Court. A recent reported case in the commercial field was Mainstream Properties v Young IRLR [2005] 964 in which he successfully defended a claim for deliberate inducement of breach of contract in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal, during which the test for intent in the tort of inducement was re-defined and subsequently upheld by the House of Lords. His most recent professional negligence case was Daniels v Deville in 2008, where he achieved summary dismissal of all claims against a firm of solicitors in the second week of a multi-party multi-million pound claim.

In June 2009 Mark ceased practice as an advocate to devote his full time to mediation and arbitration.

Professional Memberships

- International Mediation Institute Certified Mediator

· Fellow of the CMC

· Member of the London Court of International Arbitration

· Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

· Member of PNBA

· Member of Association of International Arbitration

Publications

He regularly conducts training sessions for in-house, law firms, insurance companies and others to enable them to represent their clients more effectively in mediation.

Industry Sector Expertise

A brief overview of areas of practice:

Banking / Finance

Commercial contracts

Commercial fraud / Fraud

Company shareholders

Competition

Construction and engineering

Defamation

Franchise

Group actions

Insolvency

I.T.

Insurance / reinsurance

Intellectual Property

International

Local and national government

Medical negligence / Personal injury

Oil and gas

Partnerships

Pensions

Probate / Trusts / Estates

Professional negligence

Property

Regulatory

Sport

Transport / logistics