Background & Experience
Baria is a UK qualified barrister, mediator, arbitrator, project consultant with close to 20 years' international experience in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) field.
Previously the Head of Dispute Resolution Services at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), London, she established her own consultancy firm in 2010 with a focus on international projects, commercial ADR services, professional training and development.
Working globally, with a key focus on assisting clients transition from conflict towards resolution, and understanding that change, which often underpins disputes, can have an incalculable impact on both organisations and individuals, Baria strives to ensure positive outcomes as a priority in all engagements. She enjoys a highly varied ADR practice, and has assisted clients with disputes across the legal spectrum, including construction and engineering, banking and finance, partnership and shareholder, insurance and employment/workplace matters.
Engaged both independently and with internationally renowned experts and organisations, Baria is also involved in delivering and shaping skills based training courses for ADR professionals, as well as in-house programs for law firm and corporate clients on ADR practice (including its interface with the civil justice framework), negotiation, representing clients in mediation, conflict management and communication.
Additionally, with her keen interest in cultural and jurisdictional influences on ADR, Baria also regularly undertakes substantial research into comparative practices, working with international donors and development agencies such as the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the European Union (EU). Most recently, and following completion of her 3-year remit to establish and launch the Arbitration and Mediation Court of the Caribbean (AMCC) in Barbados, Baria stepped down as the institution’s founding Director General in December 2018.
A member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London, she sits on CEDR’s Commercial Mediator Panel, as well as being an active part of the organisation's International Lead Faculty. She is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.
A dual national, born and raised in Pakistan until the age of 10, she retains close ties with South Asia and speaks fluent Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, as well as rudimentary French.
Contact Baria today to develop your strategy for not only surviving, but thriving in the face of conflict.
