Leadership

Damian Croker

Damian is a legal tech entrepreneur and ADR practitioner with a focus on the technology sector. Co-founder of ODRPlat and founder of Lexdech, an online intellectual property services platform.

Chair Campaign for Greener Arbitrations (CGA) Latin America Committee. Member of the Society for Computers and Law Sustainability and ESG Committee. Member of Mediators Beyond Borders Climate Change Project Team.

Visiting Professor in international commercial arbitration at the Shanghai Lixin University. Former Branch Chair at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Former member of International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Internet Committee.

Experienced international business executive of 30 years in the technology sector with a passion for the use of arbitration and mediation in commercial disputes. Worked in a wide range of technology areas including electronics, mobile, telecoms, internet infrastructure, cyber security and software applications. Wrote the proprietary algorithm behind the R3 Index which uniquely enables focus on those websites causing a brand most revenue and reputational risk.

Undertakes regular speaking engagements in relation to arbitration, mediation, technology, intellectual property and sustainability. Past presenter of the Creating Brand Value session on the UK IPO’s IP Masterclass course. Invited speaker on the Imperial College Intellectual Property MBA elective. Editor of the Guide to Protecting Trademarks in European Dependent Territories. Contributed to IP protection articles for various media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNN and CNBC. Cited in Chokepoints Global Private Regulation on the Internet by Natasha Tusikov. Written on the importance of businesses to select arbitration in international contracts.

Sits regularly as an arbitrator and mediator. He is on the roster of several arbitration and mediation institutions. Signatory to the Arbitration Green Pledge and Mediator Green Pledge.

Advisory Board

John Abbott

John is Managing Partner, Arbitrator, Dispute Resolution lawyer, and Mediator at a London law firm where he handles a wide range of complex and high-value commercial litigation and international arbitration, often involving multi-jurisdictional issues.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (International Arbitration) and is also an experienced mediator accredited in the UK by the Civil Mediation Council.

John’s arbitration experience spans more than 25 years and he has extensive experience representing clients in both international arbitration and domestic arbitration, institutional and ad hoc. John sits on the panel of a number of arbitral institutions including LCIA, Court of Arbitration for Art and the Asian Institute for International Arbitration and is a member of the IBA.

John has considerable experience as a mediator and believes that there are very few disputes which are not capable of resolution by the use of mediation. He has proved to be very effective at bringing the parties to the point where they feel they can reach accord.

John accepts appointments as arbitrator and as a mediator.

With more than 30 years' of experience and expertise, John is a very effective dispute resolution lawyer. He is a tenacious litigator with the ability to identify key issues early enabling him to resolve issues as quickly and cost effectively as the circumstances allow.