Mediator Profile - Adjoa Tamakloe

Profile Summary

Adjoa is an experienced solicitor and mediator. Adjoa's approach to mediation combines her creative approach to problem-solving and strong negotiation skills as an in-house lawyer at the University of Cambridge with the training, skills and knowledge developed through her mediation training and practice. In mediation, Adjoa adopts a flexible style based on an understanding of the parties' needs and then leading them to their desired solution.

Adjoa has undertaken a wide range of commercial disputes in the business, public and charitable sectors. She has also been involved in resolving community, neighbourhood and boundary disputes. She has also been involved in working with the human resources team to set up an internal mediation scheme at the University of Cambridge for internal workplace conflict resolution.

Full Profile

Adjoa’s mediation career started in 2000.  She mediates comfortably in the business, public sector, charity and voluntary environments.  Her mediation skills are further enhanced by her strong negotiation skills as a non contentious in-house lawyer dealing with national and international and multi party contractual agreements.

She was accredited with CEDR in 1996 and since then has undertaken a wide range of cases. Her commercial legal background enables her to have a good grasp and understanding of complex business issues.

Personal Style and Feedback

Adjoa ‘s approach is facilitative and uses her skills to steer parties to a successful resolution.  She believes in building rapport between the parties and uses robust reality testing when the case demands.  She uses her strong negotiation skills to guide the parties and focus them on the key issues of the dispute.  She successfully uses the non violent communication tools to enable the parties deal with difficult conversations, have dialogue which lead to commercial resolution and in some cases reconciliation.

"sensitive and professional" Client

"I liked the sensitive way in which the mediator handled the proceedings resulting in a satisfactory" Solicitor

Professional Background

Adjoa’s experience as a commercial lawyer in private practice and in-house enables her to understand and deal with complex commercial contract disputes.

In her current role as in-house lawyer of the University of Cambridge, Adjoa deals and advices on various aspects technology transfer from academia to industry covering licensing of patents, copyright, data, designs, software /IT, content and digital media, publication, e-commerce, and confidentiality matters including privacy and data protection.  In this non-contentious commercial contractual role, Adjoa’s strong negotiation skills have led to successful deals for the university.   She also has extensive experience in negotiating high level multi-party and multi-jurisdiction research and development collaboration agreements, EU funded collaboration agreements, procurement, stages I & II clinical trials agreements and related regulatory and governance issues.

back to top

Dispute Resolution Experience

Charities

• Dispute between employee and directors of a charity with allegations of bullying
• Dispute between employee and a trustee and allegations of racism and discrimination because trustee failed to follow statutory process before suspension and investigation
• Appeal by an employee against redundancy based on allegations of unfair dismissal
• Claim of unfair dismissal of club membership by club member against trustee board for failure to follow due process
• Chair and facilitation of team of 6 charity trustees

back to top

Commercial/Business

• Breach of contract for supply of goods
• Termination of contract dispute
• Breach of contract for aircraft leasing agreement
• Breach of contract for the supply of goods and services for new properties
• Contract dispute over refurbishment work and non payment on residential property
• Breach of contract claim between property developer and sub-contractor
• Family business breakdown and distribution of assets
• Breach of contract for the supply and distribution of software and maintenance agreement
• Renegotiation of multiparty research and development agreement including protection intellectual property rights and ownership and payment of royalties
• Contract claim over disputed royalty payment by publisher to copyright owner
• Renegotiation of software development and maintenance services agreement
• Family shipping business breakdown dispute over loans and guarantees given by individuals to other members of the family during the course of the business

back to top

Property

• Family property dispute over ownership
• Claim for payment for services by sub-contractor from property developer
• Breach of contract and dispute between property owner and contractor for property refurbishment and extension
• Dispute over termination of leasehold of commercial property
• Boundary dispute between two housing association tenants with allegations of racism and discrimination against management of the housing association

back to top

Public Sector Education

• Dispute between employee and line manager which led to the resignation of employee
• Breakdown in communication between two senior department heads and a junior employee
• Unauthorised licence of copyright material by university employee to third party
• Dispute between university and its post graduate business school on the use of university trademark
• Claim for compensation for injuries sustained by a pupil against local authority

back to top

Dispute Types - Case Summaries

Employment and Workplace

• Dispute between employee and line manager which led to the resignation of employee
• Breakdown in communication between two senior department heads and a junior employee
• Dispute between employee and directors of a charity with allegations of bullying
• Dispute between employee and a trustee and allegations of racism and discrimination because trustee failed to follow statutory process before suspension and investigation
• Appeal by an employee against redundancy based on allegations of unfair dismissal
• Chair and facilitation of a meeting of 6 charity trustees regarding their duties/obligation under charity law and grant funding requirements

back to top

Intellectual Property / IT

• Breach of contract for the supply and distribution of software and maintenance agreement
• Renegotiation of multiparty research and development agreement including ownership, protection intellectual property rights and payment of royalties
• Contract claim over disputed royalty payment by publisher to copyright owner
• Unauthorised licence of copyright material by university employee to third party
• Dispute between university and its post graduate business school on the use of university trademark
• Renegotiation of software development and maintenance services agreement

back to top

Partnership

• Partnership business breakdown and dispute over distribution of property and business assets
• Family shipping business breakdown dispute over loans and guarantees given by individuals to other members of the family during the course of the business
• Family property dispute over ownership

back to top

Personal Injury

• Claim for compensation for injuries sustained by a pupil against local authority

back to top

Property

• Family property dispute over ownership
• Claim for payment for services by sub-contractor from property developer
• Breach of contract and dispute between property owner and contractor for property refurbishment and extension
• Dispute over termination of leasehold of commercial property
• Boundary dispute between two housing association tenants with allegations of racism and discrimination against management of the housing association

back to top

Supply of Goods and Services
(including Outsourcing and Franchising)

• Breach of contract for supply of goods
• Termination of contract dispute
• Breach of contract for aircraft leasing agreement
• Breach of contract for the supply of goods and services for new properties

back to top

Wills/Probate/Family Trusts

• Family property breakdown and dispute over ownership and distribution of assets
• Dispute between beneficiaries of estate of deceased and deceased?s husband who had amended the will before the death of the deceased

back to top

Other Dispute Resolution Experience

• Adjoa has mediated several community and neighbourhood disputes on a voluntary basis
• Team facilitation
• She has also chaired appeal committees in redundancy and unfair dismissal claims for the Cambridge and District Citizens' Advice Bureau where she is also a director/trustee

back to top

• prev button
• next button