Dermot Ahern

Dermot is a solicitor, a former Irish Cabinet Minister, and an accredited mediator. Starting out as a solicitor in 1976, he became involved in Irish political life, serving as a local authority member for 12 years, a member of Parliament for over 24 years, and a government Minister for over 14 years. He was the Government Chief Whip in 1991 – 1992, Minister for Social Community and Family Affairs 1997 – 2002, Minister for Communications Marine and Natural Resources 2002 – 2004, Minister for Foreign Affairs 2004 – 2008, and Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform 2008 – 2011. He also served as Co-Chairman of the British Irish Inter Parliamentary Body 1993 – 1997. He was a key figure for more than 20 years in the Irish peace process, including in negotiations for the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement. He has huge experience at EU Council level including being a key negotiator and signatory to the Constitutional and Lisbon Treaties. In 2005, he was appointed by the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to be a Special Envoy on his behalf on the issue of UN Reform. When he was Minister for Foreign Affairs, he set up in the Department a Conflict Resolution Unit to help assist war torn countries, based on the Irish Peace Process experience. During his time as Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, he pioneered major reforms in Irish Arbitration and Mediation law.

The Right Honourable the Lord Woolf of Barnes,Kt, PC, QC

Lord Woolf was called to the Bar in 1955 and was appointed to the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in 1979, as Lord Justice of Appeal in 1986 and a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 1992. Between 1996 and 2000 he held the position of Master of the Rolls and in 2000 was appointed Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, a position from which he retired in September 2005. Lord Woolf has had a very long-standing interest in alternative dispute resolution and mediation. His report, Access to Justice, 1996 ("The Woolf Report") was generally acknowledged to have been a catalyst for the development of ADR in England. He has lectured on the subject of ADR both in the United Kingdom and in many countries abroad. He also chaired the network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union's Working Group on mediation. Lord Woolf is a chartered arbitrator and acts as Special Adviser to CEDR, chairing its International Conflict Management Advisory Group, launched in 2005. He was accredited as a CEDR mediator in 2006.

Sir Henry Brooke

Retiring from the Court of Appeal in September 2006, Sir Henry has now established a substantial practice as a trebly-trained mediator. He combines great all-round knowledge of law and practice derived from over 40 years’ experience at the Bar and on the Bench with a natural empathy for the parties to a dispute and their particular concerns. Willing to undertake a broad range of work, he has particular experience in personal injury, professional negligence, construction and family property mediations. Grateful parties have used the words “fantastic”, “excellent”, “magnificent”, “dispassionate”, “authoritative”, “professional and kind” and “relaxed” when describing his mediation skills.