Speaker details

Biography

James South is an international commercial mediator with 30 years’ experience helping parties resolve complex cross-border disputes. His mediation work spans corporate and commercial conflicts, international contract claims, finance/insurance, technology/ICT, property and complex family business matters, often involving multi-party dynamics and counsel-led negotiations. He was Chief Executive of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), London, for 8 years (to October 2025) and is a lead trainer on CEDR’s mediator training faculty. He has mediated, trained and advised internationally, and has designed dispute resolution systems in over 40 countries. Alongside this commercial practice, he undertakes investor–state-related work, including dispute prevention and mediation capability-building with states and institutions, and has worked with ICSID and the Energy Charter Secretariat. He also combines his mediating and consultancy skills to provide facilitation, neutral chairing and conflict coaching services to Boards, leadership teams and other groups which find themselves in conflict.