Silk Mediator

Anthony Lo Surdo SC is an Australian Commercial Silk practising from chambers in Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, London and Dubai, specialising in all forms of alternative dispute resolution including mediation, arbitration and expert determination.

Anthony has mediated a vast array of disputes since he was first accredited in 1993, including more recently, in a virtual or online format.

He uses his experience as Senior Counsel and as an internationally and nationally accredited and advanced mediator to quickly identify the issues, to gain an understanding of the interests of the opposing parties and to establish a platform from which to facilitate a fair and efficient resolution of a dispute.

He is particularly adept at navigating the intricacies of complicated multi-party commercial, insurance, building and construction, partnership, property and shareholder disputes.

As a testament to his wealth of experience in mediation, Anthony is certified as a mediator by the International Mediation Institute in the Hague. He joins a select number of mediators in Australia to achieve that qualification and the only Silk. He is also certified as a mediator by the Singapore International Mediation Institute.

Anthony is an accredited and registered mediator and a mediation instructor and coach in Papua New Guinea.

Anthony is an arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Australian Centre for Commercial Arbitration and a Fellow of Resolution Institute.

He is registered in the Australian Register of Arbitrators as a Grade 1 Arbitrator. He is also registered as an International and Domestic Arbitrator by the National Court of Justice of Papua New Guinea and as an arbitrator in Dubai.

He has sat as both a sole and panel arbitrator (including as Chair) domestically and internationally.

He is also registered by Resolution Institute as an expert determiner and is regularly appointed in that role.

MORE ABOUT ANTHONY

“I was never ruined but twice – once when I lost a lawsuit, once when I won one” – Voltaire

Mediation

Mediation is a structured negotiation process in which an independent person, known as a mediator, assists the parties to identify and assess options and negotiate an agreement to resolve their dispute.

Arbitration

Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution. Arbitration is the private, judicial determination of a dispute, by an independent third party. An arbitration hearing may involve the use of an individual arbitrator or a tribunal.

Expert Determination

Expert determination is an alternative dispute resolution process whereby an independent third party, with recognised expertise in the subject matter in dispute, assists the parties to resolve the dispute.

IMI Independent Reviewer in 2022 has described Anthony as having provided mediation services for a range of complex disputes (relating to commercial, family, negligence, property and Supreme Court matters)…” as being “…highly regarded in the legal industry for his strong facilitation and communication skills and his extensive knowledge and experience…” as a mediator that is recommended for “…his services to others based on… Mr Lo Surdo’s professional character, the fair, effective and efficient process he adopts and the successful outcomes he had been able to achieve.” Anthony has also been noted for his “…ability to assist parties to broaden their perspectives before leading them to narrow their focus on the real issues within the dispute and adopt a ‘negotiation mindset’” and “…successful style which was able to maintain the negotiation momentum via robust and relevant discussions and stimulate problem solving and option generation…” He was described overall as “…highly professional, detailed and well prepared, empathetic, calm and well measured.”

In a 5 Star review, the IMI has recently described Anthony Lo Surdo SC as follows:

“…Mr Lo Surdo had provided mediation services for a range of complex disputes (relating to commercial, family, negligence, property and Supreme Court matters). It is evident that Mr Lo Surdo is highly regarded in the legal industry for his strong facilitation and communication skills and his extensive knowledge and experience.

Every Reviewer stated they would recommended his services to others based on their assessment of Mr Lo Surdo’s professional character, the fair, effective and efficient process he adopts and the successful outcomes he had been able to achieve.

The Reviewers appreciated Mr Lo Surdo’s ability to assist parties to broaden their perspectives before leading them to narrow their focus on the real issues within the dispute and adopt a ‘negotiation mindset’. A number of Reviewers commented on Mr Lo Surdo’s successful style which was able to maintain the negotiation momentum via robust and relevant discussions and stimulate problem solving and option generation.

While the majority of Reviewers believed Mr Lo Surdo was able to assist the parties to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of their cases without imposing his judgement, three of the Reviewers expressed their style preference for Mr Lo Surdo to be more forceful in the manner by which he expressed his views and challenged parties, particularly in relation to the weak points of their argument.

Overall, Mr Lo Surdo was described as highly professional, detailed and well prepared, empathetic, calm and well measured.”

“Thank you very much…for your patient and skilful guiding of the matter to a resolution.” Senior counsel, NSW Bar