Michel Kallipetis KC FCIArb

Michel Kallipetis KC FCIArb is one of England's most experienced commercial mediators, working from the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London and as a senior member of Independent Mediators. His selection as recipient of the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 — Mediation Expert of the Year in England recognises decades of service resolving complex, high-value disputes without the cost, delay and uncertainty of a contested trial.

A career in dispute resolution

Mr Kallipetis practised as a barrister for some forty years and is a former Head of Littleton Chambers. During his career on the bench he sat as a Deputy High Court Judge across the Queen's Bench, Chancery and Technology and Construction Courts, and served as a Recorder. That judicial experience, combined with a long career at the commercial Bar, gives him an unusually rounded appreciation of how disputes are argued, decided and, ideally, settled. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and has served as Chairman of the Bar Council's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

Mediation practice

Over the course of his mediation career Mr Kallipetis has mediated well over 1,750 cases, spanning a remarkable breadth of subject matter. His areas of expertise include banking and finance, commercial contracts, construction and engineering, employment disputes (including discrimination and pension rights), insurance and reinsurance, medical negligence, partnership disputes, professional negligence, commercial fraud, intellectual property and international disputes. This range allows him to move confidently between sectors and to grasp quickly the commercial and legal dynamics that underlie each conflict.

He holds accreditation as a mediator with CEDR and ADR Chambers, is a Mediation Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (appointed 2008), a Certified Mediator of the International Mediation Institute, and a Chartered Arbitrator. His international reach is reflected in appointments and panel memberships with institutions including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Singapore International Mediation Centre and the Japan International Mediation Centre, as well as Sport Resolutions in the United Kingdom. He is fluent in German and has a working knowledge of French.

Recognition by peers and directories

Mr Kallipetis is consistently ranked among the leading names in his field. He has held Band One listings in both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, and Chambers & Partners identified him among a small group of global market leaders in mediation. In 2024 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Academy of Mediators, and he was earlier named Lawyer of the Year in Mediation by Who's Who Legal.

Mediation in England and Wales

England and Wales sit at the centre of international commercial dispute resolution, and mediation has become an integral part of that ecosystem. Courts actively encourage parties to consider settlement, and a growing body of practice and jurisprudence treats mediation as a serious and often expected step before or alongside litigation. Skilled mediators help parties preserve commercial relationships, control cost and risk, and reach outcomes that a court could not order. The International Dispute Resolution Centre in London provides a leading venue for such work, hosting mediations and arbitrations for parties from around the world. In this environment, a mediator of Mr Kallipetis's standing — combining judicial insight, deep sector knowledge and a very substantial caseload — offers users of the process real confidence that their dispute is in experienced hands.

Recognition

By naming Michel Kallipetis KC FCIArb Mediation Expert of the Year in England for 2026, the Corporate INTL Global Awards celebrate a distinguished practitioner whose work has helped resolve many hundreds of difficult disputes and who continues to be regarded, by peers and clients alike, as a leader of the English and international mediation community.