Law Society Mediation Service held an Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 21st January 2025 in the Meeting Space, Law Society House, Victoria Street, Belfast.

The Law Society Mediation Service (LSMS) was launched by the Law Society in the summer of 2019 to support members who are mediators and promote alternative dispute resolution in the legal landscape. Membership of LSMS is restricted to solicitors only who have undertaken training in core mediation subjects and who are insured to mediate. The solicitor brand itself promotes confidence and this together with the reassurance that LSMS mediators are experienced and approved dispute resolvers is certainly a solid cornerstone for this service.

The AGM was chaired by Brian Speers and opened by the President, Mr. Colin Mitchell. Mr. Justice Huddleston delivered a presentation to those present on “Developments in Mediation” and then participated in an engaging question and answer session.

Following lunch, Board member Mr. John Fox together with Cormac Fitzpatrick, Catastrophic Personal Injury lawyer with Clyde & Co jointly presented a session on Mediation in large loss personal injury litigation.

The afternoon concluded following the election of the Chair and Vice Chair - positions taken up by Mr. Brian Speers and Mr. Gareth Jones. The Board members was reconstituted as follows - Mr. Joe Rice, Mr. Kevin Neary, Mr John Fox and Mr. Michael Wilson. Ms. Emma Fox was invited to join the Board and accepted.