Fiona Colquhoun

Client Feedback

“Fiona is very effective at engaging with both sides” and “She constantly provides a forum to discuss and negotiate and manages to defuse or moderate anger without ever being patronising.” – Chambers Directory

Languages

English

Overview

Fiona Colquhoun is one of the most experienced lead mediators practising in the UK today. She has an excellent reputation for resolving disputes over a wide range of commercial sectors. Fiona is rated in both the Legal 500 and Chambers Directories (Bands 1and 2 respectively) and is known for focussing on the core issues, her business understanding, commerciality and work on emotional, tense cases, sometimes in the public domain.

Fiona has been CEDR accredited since 2003 and is a member of CEDR Chambers- a group of top mediators. Fiona mediates comfortably in environments throughout the UK, including global and top FTSE companies, businesses, professional services, and in the Public and Charity sectors. Some of Fiona’s cases are very litigious whilst others also involve longstanding, entrenched positions and high levels of interpersonal conflict.

Her mediation experience covers Banks, Business, Commercial, Contracts, Charities, Clinical Negligence, Discrimination, Education, Ecclesiastical, Information Technology and Telecommunications; Central, Local and International Government, Police, Personal Injury, Property, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, and the NHS, Partnership, Pensions, Shareholder and Workplace and Employment matters in all sectors. Fiona offers a complete range of dispute resolution techniques in her work including mediation, deal negotiation, facilitation, independent reviews, investigations and neutral chairing.

Clients have praised Fiona’s mediation style describing her as their ‘first choice’, ‘very impressive’ and ‘an exemplary mediator’. She is a Henley Business School coach, an ACAS arbitrator and a Harvard Business School alumna. Fiona has mediated some very protracted cases with great pragmatism using her business background, and her full range of skills to give clients additional value and results. A number of Fiona’s cases are in the public domain including cases on discrimination, education, with Charites, and a longstanding dispute

Professional Background

Fiona has a strong business background having worked for the greater part of her career at Board level for major PLCs. She was Group HR Director of Cable and Wireless plc, which was a FTSE top 20 global telecommunications company with over 50 businesses and 60,000 employees worldwide, and subsequently of International Computers Ltd (ICL PLC).

Previously, Fiona was Personnel Director of Mercury Communications Ltd and in her early career held senior positions in the public sector, as a Director and Non-Executive Director within the National Health Service (NHS). While working in industry, Fiona gained invaluable expertise in general business projects, mergers & acquisitions, disposals, partnerships, complex employment, change management and pension issues.

Fiona is also very able and experienced at working globally within different cultures

Expertise