Following a request from the Taizhour Intermediate People’s Court, Warren Sowerby in his capacity as a leading legal/commercial mediator, met last week at Bankside Chambers with a distinguished delegation from China.

The delegation comprised of an impressive panel including the Vice President of Jiangsu High People’s Court, Director of the Personnel Department of Taizhou Intermediate People’s Court, a professional committee member of the Judicial Committee of Lianyungang, two senior judges of the Intermediate People’s Courts of Nanton and Huai’an and the President of the Xuzhou Gulou District People’s Court.

The delegation sought to learn more about Mr Sowerby’s experience in national and international commercial dispute resolution and to exchange information and ideas on both mediation and dispute resolution generally, with a view towards developing future pathways for collaboration and exchanges.

Mr Sowerby was joined by both Alan Sorrell and Michael Greenop of Bankside Chambers. Mr Sorrell provided a perspective as a senior litigation barrister. Mr Greenop provided youthful insight as one of the next generation of mediators and mediation advocates, having competed with success as a member of the New Zealand team at the mediation advocacy championships in Paris in 2016 and completed his mediation training at the Resolution Institute.

All parties involved found the opportunity to be a fulfilling cross-cultural experience, each gaining further insight into the use and practice of mediation as an additional tool for resolving commercial disputes in a national or international environment.

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