Honorary degree for John Sturrock

John Sturrock, Chief Executive of Core Solutions Group, was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Laws at a ceremony on Thursday 18th June by Edinburgh Napier University.  The honour was conferred in recognition of his “significant contributions to mediation and the training of the legal profession over  a number of years.”

The following is excerpted from the press release accompanying the award:

John Sturrock graduated in Law from Edinburgh University in 1980 with a first class honours degree, qualified as a solicitor in 1983, gained a masters degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 and was admitted to the Scottish Bar as an advocate in 1986.

After carrying out research in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, John Sturrock was appointed in 1994 as the first Director of Training and Education at the Scottish Bar, a position he held until 2002. He co-authored a significant report on the future of legal education and, as a member of the Judicial Studies Committee, designed and delivered the first skills training courses for Scottish judges.  He was appointed a QC in 1999.

Having trained in negotiation skills at Harvard in 1996, he qualified as a mediator in the same year  and in 2001 went on to found Core Solutions Group, now recognised as Scotland’s leading business mediation service. Mr Sturrock is seen as Scotland’s leading commercial mediator and one of the top ten in the UK.  He has mediated in complex business and other disputes throughout the UK, Ireland and in other parts of Europe.  In recent years, he has brought a succession of global leaders to Scotland, engaging the professions, government and business in new ways of thinking.

John Sturrock said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this  degree. It is recognition that mediation has truly arrived in Scotland and has a significant role to play not just in legal disputes but across a broad range of sectors. Mediation has so much to offer to help people address difficult situations.”