Clifford Chance

Following the recent 18th International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Commercial Mediation Competition (6-11 February 2023) for which Clifford Chance was the Headline Sponsor, our former partner Ronald Austin looks back on his journey as a lawyer at Clifford Chance and shares his thoughts on mediation culture and its relevance to our lives.

Tell us about your involvement with the ICC.

I am the Moderator of the Global Mediation Group at Clifford Chance which I created in February 2008. Originally, we were about eight members and now we have about fifty, spread over our international offices. The Group aims to make sure that our litigators know how to represent clients in mediation and that a mediation culture seeps right through our Firm, in particular with our transactional lawyers (I was a transactional lawyer). Finally, it's a good way of promoting our brand!

That brings me to the ICC, where I've been involved with the Competition since 2008. My current role is Head of the Rules Revision Working Group, a position I have held since 2012. Before that, I was Chair of the Master Working Group, and before that, I was Chair of other groups in the ICC for the Competition. I have been both a Judge and a Mediator in the Competition.

Tell us about your journey as a lawyer at Clifford Chance.

I always wanted to go into International Business Law – in other words, the law dealing with international business. When I was looking for my traineeship in London, there were hardly any firms which had offices abroad. One of the few such firms was then called Clifford-Turner, which had an office in Paris and was founded in 1962.

So, at the beginning of 1970, I went out to Paris as part of my traineeship. It was supposed to be for six months in Clifford-Turner (which became Clifford Chance in 1987). The Paris office then had nine people (four partners, myself as a trainee and support staff). The six months became eight months, I became qualified, and I then stayed on with the firm in Paris, seeing its size peak at 450 people. The rest, as they say, is history! I was made a Partner on 1 January 1973 (then the second youngest ever partner in the firm!), a position I held until 30 April 2007.

How did you get into mediation?

I qualified as a mediator in 2005 which led me to create our Global Mediation Group. One of the litigation partners in Paris had previously been the General Secretary of the ICC Court of Arbitration. He told me that he'd like me to meet someone from the ICC because it was looking for a sponsor and other help for its International Commercial Mediation Competition. As a result, Clifford Chance became a sponsor, and I became involved!

Why is mediation culture important in our lives?

Basically, it is very much about listening carefully to what people are saying and not assuming. If you are the mediator, your role is to help the parties find their own solution to their conflict. This is also useful in coaching: I do a certain amount of de facto coaching where I find that mediation techniques are very useful.

What's your advice for young people today?

The world is your oyster, I know that sounds very trite, but the opportunities are there! Have confidence in yourself and don't be shy of asking. At the same time, always have respect for the other person because how you treat people is really important. Also, never be frightened by the importance of the person you are dealing with.