Joe Tirado

Joe Tirado

Solicitor & Arbitrator

Short Introduction

Assisting parties to find creative, enforceable commercial solutions that provide certainty and definitive resolution. Empowering all stakeholders to have the confidence to participate in building an outcome that focuses on their interests rather rights. It is immensely stimulating to be part of a process that is focussed on finding a positive outcome for all and immensely rewarding when one is found.

Testimonials

"Joe did an excellent job. He was professional, enthusiastic and detail-oriented throughout the process. My client had never mediated before in any venue, and was impressed with Joe’s management of the proceeding, including the pre-mediation communications and the mediation itself. I would certainly recommend Joe to other litigants, and would use him again myself."

Client Feedback

"Helpful and supportive. He was a very good sounding-board between private sessions... He is perceptive and sensitive to the way parties are reacting: good qualities in a mediator."

Client Feedback

"...he was able to interact in a positive way and was highly aware of interpersonal nuances and negotiation styles, demonstrating this by good analysis after caucuses and predicting, as well as suggesting, ways forward."

Client Feedback

About Work

I have been an accredited mediator for over 20 years. I have handled a broad range of disputes between individuals, companies, multi-national corporations, state entities and sovereign governments in often high value and complex cases involving commercial contracts – sale of goods & services, franchising, licensing & distribution agreements, partnerships and shareholders in a number of sectors and industries, including banking and finance; commodities; construction and engineering; energy & natural resources (oil & gas, renewables, power generation and mining); food and beverage and hospitality; information, communication and technology; insurance; professional services; transportation (automobile, aviation and shipping) and travel. I have conducted and advised on over 50 mediations and other alternative dispute resolution processes. I have written extensively and I present regularly on mediation and alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") at major international conferences, symposia and seminars and prominent universities around the world. I have been actively involved in mediation institutions and prestigious ADR associations and committees. I am a past Co-Chair of the IBA Mediation Committee. I would describe my personal style as being commercially aware and focussed, personable, analytical, patient, a good judge of character, pragmatic, approachable and determined.

Expertise

  • Commercial & Corporate
  • Construction, Property & Planning
  • Banking, Finance & Insurances
  • Public Sector & Governance
  • Culture, Lifestyle & Sport
  • Industry, Energy & Environment
  • International Trade & Competition
  • Technology, Media & IP

Languages

  • English
  • Spanish
  • French (intermediate)
  • Portuguese (basic)

Other Awards

Solicitor, England & Wales, 1994 Qualified Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings), 2004 Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Accredited Commercial Mediator (2004) and Investor-State Mediator (2017)

Memberships

  • 2025 – Centro Internacional de Arbitraje de Madrid–Centro Iberoamericano de Arbitraje (CIAM-CIAR), Mediators Appointment Committee
  • 2020–2024 – International Bar Association (IBA), Mediation Committee Advisory Board
  • 2015 – International Bar Association (IBA), Mediation Committee Co-Chair
  • 2013–2014 – International Bar Association (IBA), Senior Vice Chair
  • 2011–2012 – International Bar Association (IBA), Co-Chair, Mediation Techniques Sub-Committee
  • 2012 – International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Task Force on the revision of the ICC ADR Rules, ICC Expertise Rules and ICC Dispute Board Rules
  • 2007–2009 – CEDR, Commission on Settlement in Arbitration
  • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
  • Fellow of the Civil Mediation Council
  • Commonwealth Lawyers Association, ADR Committee
  • Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), Legal Advisory Task Force
  • International Task Force on Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution (joint initiative of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, the International Mediation Institute and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine Law School)

Publications

I have written extensively on mediation. Illustrative examples of book contributions and recent articles include: • Co-author of Chapter on “Mediation in the Energy and Natural Resources Sector: The Latin-American Experience”, International Arbitration in Latin America Energy and Natural Resources Disputes, Wolters Kluwer, 2021 • Co-author of Chapter on “Codes of Conduct for Commercial and Investment Mediators: Striving for Consistency and a Common Global Approach”, Mediation in International Commercial and Investment Disputes, Oxford University Press, 2020 • Co-author of Chapter on “Building on Progress”, IBA e-book: Promoting Further Mediation • Contributor to Resolving Corporate Governance Disputes, International Finance Corporation • Co-author of Chapter on “Opening Statements,” IBA e-book: Mediation Techniques • Author of Succeeding in ADR: The Importance of Buy-in and Mindset, Inside the Minds: ADR Client Strategies in the UK, Aspatore Books. • Author on “Investor-State Mediation: Revista Argentina de Arbitraje - Edición Especial: Suplemento Especial referido a Arbitraje de Inversión, Universidad Austral, May 2024 • Author on “Mediation and Arbitration: Living together in perfect harmony?”, Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre ADR Bulletin, Issue 1, August 2023 • Author on “Investor-state Mediation: A New Way To Deal With Old Problems”, Mediate.com, October 2022 • Co-author of “Investor-State Mediation - New Tools for Policy Makers”, Transnational Dispute Management, February 2020