Mediator Resume

Atlanta-based mediator and arbitrator with nearly 30 years of legal experience. Served on approximately 1500 cases since becoming a registered neutral in 2003. Offers dispute resolution services, in English and Spanish, across areas including healthcare, business disputes, contracts and commercial matters, accidents and injuries. Actively involved in the Dispute Resolution Section (DRS) of the American Bar Association and has served, among other roles, as Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association DRS (2022-23), and as Treasurer (2023-24), Secretary (2024-25), and Vice Chair (2025-26) of the State Bar of Georgia DRS. Since 2023, was selected by Thomson Reuters for inclusion in the Georgia “Super Lawyers” list for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Innovative ADR International LLC - Mediator/Arbitrator/Founding Member

Arbitrator, Mediator, Attorney, Negotiation Author/Trainer

Private Mediator and Arbitrator, Innovative ADR International LLC, 2016-Present; Division Director/Attorney General Liaison/Chief Mediator (and other roles), State of Georgia, 2003-2016; Corporate/M&A/Healthcare Associate, King & Spalding LLP, 2000-2002; Corporate/M&A/Healthcare Associate, Long Aldridge & Norman LLP (n/k/a Dentons), 1997-2000.

Highly experienced attorney, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) professional, and founder of dispute resolution company. Serves as private mediator and arbitrator of civil disputes, having worked successfully with thousands of clients to resolve mediation and arbitration matters with up to 7 figures in dispute. Legal experience includes Am Law 100 firms and government practice. Have served as mediator beginning in 2003 and dedicated professional efforts to ADR, mediation, and arbitration since 2016. Handles civil disputes including healthcare, commercial, accidents and injuries, and employment matters. Offers 30 years of legal expertise, including private practice (corporate, M&A, healthcare regulatory, litigation) with two of the world's largest international firms and government service. Acted as key legal advisor on range of transactional, regulatory compliance, reimbursement and litigation matters spanning a wide-ranging commercial practice with health law emphasis. Healthcare focus has included clients and issues such as health systems and organizations, skilled nursing and home health providers, hospitals, medical groups, physicians, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Also served 13 years in increasingly senior positions for the State of Georgia's workers' compensation agency with emphasis on ADR and administrative law. Savvy legal strategist and negotiator; primary legal liaison to various departments and governing bodies regarding tactical direction for wide range of legal matters affecting state's rights and responsibilities as well as complex policies and procedures. Mediated hundreds of cases and advised judges ruling on motions and contested issues. Managed department of staff attorneys and appellate judges with responsibility for analyzing legal arguments and drafting well-reasoned and thoroughly researched legal opinions and decisions. Served in roles including agency Chief Mediator, Deputy Director of ADR Division, Attorney General Liaison, and Director of Appellate Division.

Registered mediator since 2003. Have presided as mediator in approximately 1,500 cases with high success rate and involving up to multi-million dollars in controversy. Have mediated with thousands of parties in matters including healthcare, commercial/business disputes, workplace and other injuries, ERISA, payment and other compensation matters, and attorney fee liens. Have conducted hundreds of mediations involving at least one Spanish-speaking party, and have also conducted mediations involving individuals speaking languages such as Portuguese, Mandarin, Korean, Romanian, Farsi, Hebrew, Creole, French, Mam, and Bosnian. Healthcare mediation experience includes disputes among physician shareholders and administrators of specialty practice groups to address issues such as buy-sell agreement terms, shareholder agreement voting and succession, practice governance, physician employment, insurance coverage and reimbursement issues, management of doctor schedules, office conflict, staff relations.

Physician shareholder disputes, business disputes, medical practice management issues, contract claims, personal injury and tort claims, workplace injuries and associated employment issues, ERISA matters, insurance coverage and related disputes.

My role as mediator is to help parties and their counsel make well-informed decisions, weighing the opportunities of settlement against the risks, costs, and stress of continued litigation. This approach helps parties resolve their disputes efficiently and intelligently. Drawing on more than 22 years in the ADR field, including thousands of hours mediating and years of teaching and studying the craft, I bring both experience and perspective. I help parties identify their best alternatives outside of litigation, considering not only possible court outcomes but also financial, reputational, and human impacts. Because each case is unique, I do not use a one-size-fits-all mediation model. Instead, I design a process with input from the parties, adapting from a range of techniques to meet the circumstances of the case. Preparation is key: the more information shared before the mediation session -- whether through written submissions, phone calls, or video conferences -- the more effectively we can move from identifying issues to exploring solutions. In the right cases, joint opening discussions can be constructive, and I encourage them when they can set a positive tone. Throughout, I balance humility and persistence: the outcome always belongs to the parties, yet I will not give up on helping them pursue resolution where there is mutual interest in doing so. As mediator, I pride myself on bringing a calm, patient, and thoughtful presence. Over decades in the ADR field, I have found that effective process design and negotiation skills are as critical to success as the underlying facts and law. My commitment ultimately is to help design a mediation process that helps the parties achieve their resolution goals.

Highly trained, experienced, and willing to conduct arbitration and mediation proceedings using Zoom and other platforms. Utilize online, videoconferencing, audioconferencing, and hybrid technologies to maximize flexibility and meet parties' needs. Also able to enhance efficiency through proactive use of electronic document management and hearing formats that harness available technology to create streamlined processes. Successfully completed Clearbrief Academy, December 2025. Specialized training, writing, and presenting on use of technology in online dispute resolution (ODR) and ADR settings includes: ABA Using AI Ethically & Responsibly in Your Legal Practice (2024); Presenter, “Workplace Injuries, Mediation & ODR: USA Perspectives,” ODR ExpoTech, Congreso Interactivo Online, April 26-28, 2022 (available worldwide); Online Dispute Resolution as Healthcare Litigation Tool: Mediation Tips, Lessons Learned, and Looking Ahead, ABA Health eSource Magazine (August 2021); Executive Producer, Online Mock Mediation Project, American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, released August 18, 2021; Podcast Interview, “Insider Tips from an Experienced ODR Professional: What Works and What Doesn’t, with Doug Witten, Esq.,” The Learn to Mediate Online Podcast, originally aired June 9, 2020; Video Mediation During the Coronavirus Pandemic: How Online Dispute Resolution Works, Nolo, June 2020; Mediating Online Disputes, Silicon Valley Summer Institute (2019).

University of Houston Law Center (LLM, Health Law & Policy-1997); New York University School of Law (JD-1996); Emory University Goizueta Business School (BBA-1993); University of New South Wales (1991).

Admitted to the Bar: Florida (1996 - inactive); Georgia (1998).

American Bar Association (Dispute Resolution, Health Law Sections); American Health Law Association; Atlanta Bar Association [Dispute Resolution (past Chair), Litigation, Workers’ Compensation Sections]; Foro Internacional de Mediadores Profesionales (U.S. Ambassador); Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution; National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; State Bar of Georgia [Dispute Resolution (Chair-elect 2025-26), Healthcare, Workers’ Compensation Sections].

Selected recent publications: No Surprises? Surprise Billing and Independent Dispute Resolution, ABA Litigation Section, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Vol. 29, Issue 1 (Spring 2025); AI, Innovation and ADR: The Future is Now, Lex and Verum, The National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (April 2025); Expert Opinion -- AI, Innovation and ADR: The Future is Now, ALM/Daily Report (January 29, 2025); Douglas J. Witten, Time-Tested: The Stoic Negotiator’s Five Keys for the Modern Deal (2024); The Message or the Messenger?, Atlanta Bar Association Dispute Resolution Newsletter, Winter 2023; Georgia’s Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act: Spotlighting Dispute Resolution Provisions, Atlanta Bar Association Dispute Resolution Newsletter, Winter 2022; No More Surprises: An Overview of Georgia’s Latest Effort to Resolve Balance Billing Disputes, Georgia Health Law Developments, Winter 2021; Online Dispute Resolution as Healthcare Litigation Tool: Mediation Tips, Lessons Learned, and Looking Ahead, ABA Health eSource Magazine (August 2021); American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, March 2021 (co-editor); Douglas J. Witten, Mediation Essentials Toolkit: A Practitioner’s Emergency Survival Guide (2021); Video Mediation During the Coronavirus Pandemic: How Online Dispute Resolution Works, Nolo, June 2020; Mediation in the Service of Others, Revista ADR Magazine, Foro Internacional de Mediadores Profesionales, Número Especial, April 10, 2020; American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, March 2020 (co-editor); American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, January 2020 (co-editor). Selected recent speaking appearances: Presenter, “Professionalism and the Role of Civility in Dispute Resolution,” State Bar of Georgia/Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution 32nd Annual ADR Institute, November 19, 2025, Atlanta, GA; Program Co-Chair, “Keys to a Successful Mediation,” State Bar of Georgia ADR Section/Young Lawyers Division Joint CLE, May 15, 2025, Atlanta, GA; Program Faculty Chairperson, “Artificial Intelligence and ADR,” Practising Law Institute Studio Briefing, released December 2024; Program Faculty Chairperson, “Mediation and Negotiation with a Georgia Professionalism Focus,” Practising Law Institute Studio Briefing, released September 2024; Moderator, Sesión de Comunicaciones, IV Foro Internacional de Mediadores Profesionales, June 26-28, 2024, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Panelist, “What I Know Now That I Wish I Knew as a 1L,” Emory University School of Law, April 8, 2024, Atlanta, GA; Presenter, “Addressing Language Barriers in Mediation,” State Bar of Georgia, Dispute Resolution Section, Conflict Resolution Day, October 19, 2023; Podcast Appearance, “Stoicism in Negotiation, with Doug Witten,” Negotiations Ninja, originally aired October 16, 2023; Panelist, “What I Know Now That I Wish I Knew as a 1L,” Emory University School of Law, March 29, 2023, Atlanta, GA; Podcast Appearance, “Top Tips: Managing Emotions in Negotiations – Highlight Reel,” Negotiate Anything, originally aired March 4, 2023; Moderator, "Cultural Considerations and Language Barriers: Practical Tips for the Mediator and Advocate," State Bar of Georgia/Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution 29th Annual ADR Institute, November 18, 2022; Moderator, "Open Roundtable/Welcome Discussion," Atlanta Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, September 15, 2022; Speaker, "Getting What You Want from the Other Side: Negotiation Techniques That Work Outside a Mediation," Atkins David Lunch Call Podcast, August 24, 2022; Expert Commenter, "Stoicism: The Secret to Managing Emotional Triggers," Forbes Magazine, June 20, 2022.

Metro Atlanta area

Hourly Rate: $550.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $200.00/hr Cancellation: $2,275.00/Day Cancellation Period: 2 Days Comment: No travel compensation for mediations conducted within the Atlanta metro area. No cancellation fee in the event of settlement.

English; Spanish

United States of America

Decatur, Georgia