Stephen Barker

For many years Stephen was one of the leading commercial litigation and arbitration lawyers in the West Midlands. Chambers directory had him in top Band 1, calling him an "A-list player who has a good legal brain and brings incredible energy to his cases". He spent the majority of his 35 year legal career at international law firm Eversheds, where he was the partner in charge of the Birmingham office's commercial litigation team. In 2012, Stephen left mainstream private practice and established Stephen Barker Mediation. He joined the bar in 2017 as a tenant at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square. As a mediator Stephen brings together his deep understanding of commercial litigation and arbitration with a natural flair for creating innovative solutions to business disputes. In the early 1990s, when mediation in the UK was still in its infancy, Stephen had his first taste of mediation. The mediator was able to achieve a deal that could never have been achieved at court. The clients on both sides were pleased with the settlement they reached. It changed the way he looked at his clients’ disputes. It wasn't just about winning an argument - it was about getting what his clients needed to move on with running their businesses. Stephen gained CEDR accreditation as a mediator in 2001 and has been much in demand ever since. He has a broad commercial mediation practice - majoring on professional negligence; insolvency; commercial contracts; partnership & shareholder disputes; property; and anything automotive engineering, manufacturing and motorsport.