Mark Kelly

• LLB (Hons) BA - University of Auckland, 1993

Mark is one of New Zealand’s leading commercial mediators, with a reputation for skill, determination, commerciality, and relatability.

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He is the immediate past President of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand.

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He has won the Mediator of the Year Award at the 2019 and 2022 New Zealand Law Awards. He is also the winner of the 2022 Lexology Client Choice Award, for mediation in New Zealand.

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Background

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From 1994-2004, Mark was a litigator at leading law firms in New Zealand and Ireland. He has been a barrister since 2005.

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As counsel, Mark litigated a wide variety of civil disputes. He has appeared in the New Zealand High and District Courts many times, and in the Court of Appeal. He also has experience in the Employment Court, the Employment Authority, the Weathertight Homes Tribunal, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and the Coroners Court. He has acted in numerous arbitrations.

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Mark also appeared many times as counsel in commercial mediations, experience which led to him becoming a commercial mediator.

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His commercial mediation practice grew rapidly, and has been his full-time focus for some time.

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‍Commercial Mediation

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Mark completed the Mediating Disputes course at Harvard Law School. He is also Resolution Institute trained. He is a Fellow of AMINZ. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. Mark was an AMINZ Councillor from 2015 to 2022. He was President from 2020 to 2022.

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Mark is on mediation panels for AMINZ, the Health and Disability Commission, the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre, the New Zealand Law Society Lawyers Complaints Service, Sports New Zealand's Sport and Recreation Complaints and Mediation Service, and the Weathertight Homes Tribunal.

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He is a facilitator with the Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service.

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He is on the AMINZ Rural List. As an experienced rural mediator, he has been heavily involved in submissions to Parliament on, and training others about, the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2019. He is an accredited FDMA Mediator.

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He is an appointee on the World Intellectual Property Organisation Center’s List of Mediators. He is also on the AMINZ Intellectual Property List.

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Mark has extensive experience successfully mediating disputes involving: general commercial issues (company, contract, debt, education, employment, finance, negligence, partnership, property, relationship property (family businesses)), construction, insurance, intellectual property, trusts and estates, rural and farm debt, earthquake, weather tightness, international and sports issues.

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He has worked with international parties, and mediated cross-border issues.

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Mark was the winner of the Resolution Institute's 2015 award for contribution to dispute resolution by an emerging practitioner. In 2016 he was awarded the AMINZ Ann Edge Memorial Award for Excellence in Fellowship Mediation and the Fellowship Mediation Prize.

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Pro bono

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Mark maintained a pro bono commitment to the Otara Citizens' Advice Bureau from the mid-90s to 2022. He spent seven years as a trustee (with responsibility for finance) on the board of a decile one school in East Tamaki. He spent two years as a selector for Gymsports New Zealand (selecting athletes for Commonwealth Games and World Championships).

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He mediates for the New Zealand Law Society Lawyers Complaints Service without charge, and undertakes other pro bono mediations.

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Mark was an AMINZ Councillor from 2015 to 2022, and President from 2020 to 2022. He championed various diversity, educational, and collegial support initiatives in these roles.

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He has been an advocate for the greater use of mediation to resolve Canterbury Earthquakes disputes, and for a mediation scheme to be created in advance of future natural disasters. He has undertaken research, speaking engagements and advisory work in this regard.

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He has been involved in various other charitable and pro bono work.

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‍Teaching

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Mark has written and presented extensively, locally and internationally, on mediation, and other legal topics. He has guest-lectured, and provided mediation skills coaching, at the Auckland University Law School. Mark is a regular on the faculty of the AMINZ Mediation Skills Intensive course. In 2019, he supervised the AMINZ Fellowship (Mediation) Assessment.

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