Mediation & ADR

Keystone’s aviation mediators and arbitrators advise clients by drawing on extensive global experience. They help families, insurers, and industry participants resolve complex aviation disputes through mediation and arbitration, providing specialist guidance grounded in deep sector knowledge.

• Acted for families and aviation insurers in more than 1,000 mediations in the following jurisdictions (USA/UK/EU/Asia/Australia).

Keystone’s commercial mediators guide businesses through arbitration and mediation involving international disputes, contract issues, IP disputes, and data‑related conflicts. They support clients with strategic advice that helps avoid litigation and secure commercially sensible settlements in complex multi‑jurisdictional matters.

• Advised a hospital trust in an arbitration against their solicitors for failing to serve a break notice.
• Acted in a multi-million-pound arbitration claim relating to prime central London hotels and advice concerning a major Central London hotel substantial dilapidations claim (£30 million).
• Acted in an ICC arbitration in Amsterdam and London which lasted two and a half years and which involved complex antitrust issues, resulting in an $82 million recovery for a Disney and Sony subsidiary.
• Provided expert opinion on English law to construe jurisdiction in light of an arbitration provision.

Our construction mediators and arbitrators advise on complex building, engineering, and infrastructure disputes, guiding clients through mediation, adjudication, and arbitration. Their experience includes securing substantial arbitration awards, handling multi‑million‑pound delay and disruption claims, and resolving adjudications involving defects, enforcement issues, and major commercial construction projects across the UK.

• Secured a substantial award at arbitration in respect of a withheld payment under a building contract.
• Acted for Cambridgeshire County Council in TCC proceedings (including mediation proceedings) in relation to a delay and disruption dispute concerning the construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway on the NEC 2 Contract for damages in the region of £100 million.
• Acted for a design and build contractor of a 150-bedroom hotel in Shoreditch in respect of four adjudications and associated enforcement proceedings in the TCC.
• Acted for the supplier of fuel to a major UK airport in two adjudications in relation to defects and delay.
• Acted for a major German civil engineering contractor in an ICC arbitration in Paris concerning an irrigation project in Libya.

Keystone’s specialist arbitrators advise energy and oil & gas clients in major arbitrations involving multi‑million‑pound disputes. Their guidance helps organisations resolve high‑stakes commercial conflicts efficiently and strategically across global jurisdictions.

• Represented oil traders in a dispute in a London arbitration over the source of contamination as between shore tanks and ship tanks.
• Advised a Nigerian oil company in ICC Arbitration proceedings concerning a claim for over US$300 million in connection with the purchase of an oil mining licence.
• Advised a joint venture company between a subsidiary of a Nigerian oil company and a company registered in Singapore in an LCIA arbitration with regard to a fraud dispute relating to a multimillion-pound purchase of oil rigs.
• Advised a joint venture company between a subsidiary of a Nigerian oil company and a company registered in Singapore in an LCIA arbitration with regard to a fraud dispute relating to a multimillion-pound purchase of oil rigs.
• Advised a Nigerian oil company in ICC Arbitration proceedings concerning a claim for over US$300 million in connection with the purchase of an oil mining licence.

The Family team’s mediators guide couples – married, unmarried, or in civil partnerships -through financial, children, and relationship breakdown issues. They use collaborative and mediation‑based approaches to secure constructive resolutions, including in high‑conflict cases, international matters, and situations involving significant assets, helping families reach workable and confidential settlements.

• Adopted the collaborative law approach and assisted civil partners resolve financial and property issues.
• Mediated to a successful conclusion both complex financial and children arrangements. The husband and wife had considerable assets and special care was required to meet some specific needs of the wife.
• Mediated to a successful conclusion both financial and children arrangements for an unmarried couple who had a substantial property portfolio.
• Mediated to a successful conclusion a high-conflict case regarding arrangements for the children. The parents’ relationship had deteriorated considerably over a period of time and they were not talking at all when we first met.
• Mediated to a successful conclusion both financial and children arrangements where the husband and wife were at different stages of acceptance that the marriage had come to an end.
• Mediated for a couple who were going through financial remedy proceedings. Financial arrangements included consideration of assets held outside of the jurisdiction.
• Mediated high-profile couples so as to ensure their names remain out of the press.
• Mediated with high-conflict couples and undertook shuttle mediation to ensure overall resolution.
• Mediated complex financial arrangements on divorce often involving foreign assets.
• Mediated complex children arrangements on divorce and separation and arranged on occasion for children to be seen in mediation as well as mediating relocation cases involving children.
• Mediated pre-marital agreements and post-marital agreements so that both clients could appreciate and discuss together their anxieties and concerns with the help of the mediator.
• Resolved complex financial and children issues involving several jurisdictions in mediation.
• Concluded out-of-court settlements for City and legal professionals and their spouses and partners.

Our team of mediators and arbitrators support financial services clients by resolving high‑value professional negligence, career‑impact, and insurance‑related disputes. They guide parties through mediation to achieve favourable outcomes, such as settling lifetime earnings claims and multi‑million‑pound indemnity disputes, ensuring commercial clarity and reduced litigation risk.

• Successfully settled a claim for life time earnings and damaged prospects at mediation for an IFA whose career had been ruined by the provision of a negligent career reference.
• Acted for a wealth management company in relation to a professional indemnity insurance policy dispute concerning UCIS sales claims. The multi-million-pound claim was successfully settled at a tripartite mediation.
• Acted for a plumbing and heating services company following a large fire loss, challenging policy avoidance due to alleged under-declaration of stock. The claim was settled favourably at mediation, with the remaining loss recovered from the client’s broker.
• Advised on a claim against a surveyor in respect of a measured building survey, with the dispute settling at mediation.
• Acted for G15 housing association in a high-value defects dispute culminating in mediation with a local government authority for wholescale structural defects inherited on disposal of property units; seeking to recover remediation costs (c.£12m).
• Acted for a HNW client in a dispute with the contractor and subcontractors regarding wholescale defects in a private dwelling house, as part of a pre-action process before litigation (unresolved at mediation).
• Acted for a farming couple of a c.£3m farm in a proprietary estoppel and constructive trust claim against them, securing a settlement on a nuisance basis of the claim at mediation.
• Provided advice to HSBC on the enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards in various jurisdictions.
• Successfully acted for Lloyd’s names’ agency in an arbitration that concerned denial of cover on whole account excess of loss reinsurance policy.
• Settled at mediation a claim against a geotechnical engineer relating to a poorly designed flood defence where it was alleged that the defence could not withstand a full head of water, and leaked (value of claim £2 million).

Our experienced arbitrators advise on complex professional discipline and regulatory disputes, including challenging experts’ determinations, addressing conflicts of interest, and reviewing arbitration awards. They help clients such as valuers, surveyors, and regulated professionals navigate specialist arbitration processes to secure fair outcomes in technical regulatory matters.

• Acted in proceedings to remove an RICS appointed Arbitrator due to a conflict of interest.
• Challenging a valuer’s/surveyor’s arbitration award or expert’s determination.
• Arbitration concerning repairing obligations and lease covenants following substantial pervasive leaks. Landlord’s failure to repair and business interruption in respect of central London retail business and losses/inability to trade.

Our property mediation and ADR specialists advise on landlord‑tenant, boundary, rent review, and development‑related disputes, using mediation and arbitration to resolve complex real‑estate issues. Their expertise includes handling service charge disagreements, lease renewals, rent reviews, and high‑value dilapidations claims, helping clients achieve practical and cost‑effective outcomes.

• Undertaken arbitration of a contested completion and handover of a mixed-use development in Battersea.
• Advised a supermarket chain in an arbitration concerning the interpretation of a rent review clause.
• Advised a hospital trust in an arbitration against their solicitors for failing to serve a break notice.
• Acted in an arbitration concerning repairing obligations and lease covenants following substantial pervasive leaks and the landlord’s failure to repair and business interruption in respect of central London retail business and losses/inability to trade.