The mediation community periodically returns to the same difficult question: should mediators be regulated more closely, and if so, how? The question is now receiving fresh attention in England and Wales through the Civil Mediation Council’s consultation on a draft Code of Professional Practice for Mediators. The draft aims to define what it means to […]
Artificial intelligence is no longer a speculative topic in mediation; it is already reshaping how parties and mediators prepare for disputes, how mediators manage complexity, and how parties experience the process itself. In a recent discussion featuring Gary Doernhoefer, founder of ADR Notable , the conversation moved quickly past whether AI belongs in mediation and […]
Welcome back to Mediation Aspects of SB940 in California, a series providing updates on Business and Professions Code 6173, which created a voluntary certification program for mediators and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) professionals in California. The new program “aims to promote adherence to ethical standards for ADR services and establish consumer protection mechanisms.” This […]
Oral Agreement to Settlement Terms in Mediation Enforced A former employee, represented by counsel, participated by Zoom in a mediation before a federal magistrate judge. The parties reached a settlement agreement and the magistrate judge recited the essential terms of the agreement, which was recorded, including: payment by the employer to the employee within approximately […]
FIND THE RIGHT MEDIATOR FOR YOU.
Explore AAA Mediation.org’s extensive list of online mediator profiles to identify and select a mediator best suited for your particular dispute.
Christopher M. Ernst is a full-time arbitrator and mediator, having retired from the active practice of law in 2025 after 34 years of fighting for his clients. His ADR practice, Nationwide ADR (www.nationwideadr.com), focuses on resolving complex disputes in the areas of business, tort, consumer, employment, and securities law. While based in Cleveland, Ohio, he oversees cases across the country. He is also the author of Baldwin’s Ohio Practice: Tort Law 2d, published by West/Thomson Reuters.
Christopher M. Ernst is a full-time arbitrator and mediator, having retired from the active practice of law in 2025 after 34 years of fighting for his clients. His ADR practice, Nationwide ADR (www.nationwideadr.com), focuses on resolving complex disputes in the areas of business, tort, consumer, employment, and securities law. While based in Cleveland, Ohio, he oversees cases across the country. He is also the author of Baldwin’s Ohio Practice: Tort Law 2d, published by West/Thomson Reuters.
Joan Stearns Johnsen, FCIArb, CEDR Accredited, IMI Certified, is an experienced neutral, trainer, and teacher. She is the Director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she teaches international arbitration, arbitration, mediation, and negotiation. Joan also regularly conducts corporate trainings, and speaks and publishes regularly on dispute resolution. She has been quoted on NPR, CBS, and other news sources. Joan has over thirty years of experience as an arbitrator and mediator with particular expertise in financial services, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, and other commercial disputes. She is a member of the American Arbitration Association mediation and arbitration panels, as well as on a number of other panels. Before becoming a neutral, Joan was an Enforcement Attorney for the Commodity Futures Commission in Washington, DC, Associate General Counsel for the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (now a Designated Contract Market within the CME Group) and Assistant Commodities Counsel for Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley Wealth Management) both in New York. In addition to serving on the editorial board of the AAA’s mediate.com website. Joan is a member of the AAA’s Financial Services Advisory Committee, a past Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, current Co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Mediation Committee, on the Council of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and an academic board member of the Miami International Arbitration Society.
Joan Stearns Johnsen, FCIArb, CEDR Accredited, IMI Certified, is an experienced neutral, trainer, and teacher. She is the Director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she teaches international arbitration, arbitration, mediation, and negotiation. Joan also regularly conducts corporate trainings, and speaks and publishes regularly on dispute resolution. She has been quoted on NPR, CBS, and other news sources. Joan has over thirty years of experience as an arbitrator and mediator with particular expertise in financial services, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, and other commercial disputes. She is a member of the American Arbitration Association mediation and arbitration panels, as well as on a number of other panels. Before becoming a neutral, Joan was an Enforcement Attorney for the Commodity Futures Commission in Washington, DC, Associate General Counsel for the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (now a Designated Contract Market within the CME Group) and Assistant Commodities Counsel for Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley Wealth Management) both in New York. In addition to serving on the editorial board of the AAA’s mediate.com website. Joan is a member of the AAA’s Financial Services Advisory Committee, a past Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, current Co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Mediation Committee, on the Council of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and an academic board member of the Miami International Arbitration Society.
Mr. Feliu is a long-time panelist on American Arbitration Association’s Employment Disputes, Large, Complex Commercial, Class Action, and is on its Master Mediator Panel. He has been appointed to serve as arbitrator in over 650 employment and commercial cases over his long career.
Mr. Feliu is the Editor-in-Chief of the leading treatise in the employment dispute resolution area, ADR in Employment Law (Bloomberg/BNA 2015, 2017 Supplement), and is a frequent lecturer and trainer on employment and commercial arbitration and mediation topics. Mr. Feliu is a former Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and, for many years, was the co-Chair of its Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. Mr. Feliu is a Fellow and on the Board of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, as well as a Fellow with the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has also served as the EEO Officer for the Port of New York and New Jersey since 2006.
Mr. Feliu is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School.
Mr. Feliu is a long-time panelist on American Arbitration Association’s Employment Disputes, Large, Complex Commercial, Class Action, and is on its Master Mediator Panel. He has been appointed to serve as arbitrator in over 650 employment and commercial cases over his long career.
Mr. Feliu is the Editor-in-Chief of the leading treatise in the employment dispute resolution area, ADR in Employment Law (Bloomberg/BNA 2015, 2017 Supplement), and is a frequent lecturer and trainer on employment and commercial arbitration and mediation topics. Mr. Feliu is a former Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and, for many years, was the co-Chair of its Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. Mr. Feliu is a Fellow and on the Board of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, as well as a Fellow with the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has also served as the EEO Officer for the Port of New York and New Jersey since 2006.
Mr. Feliu is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School.
Brenda K. Radmacher is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s Construction practice, recently named a Law360 Practice Group of the year. She focuses her practice on construction law, working as a counselor, litigator, and noted speaker on issues involving landowners, developers, general contractors, and design professionals. Radmacher, based in Los Angeles, has a multi-faceted practice handling litigation and providing advice and transactional counsel to her construction industry clients.
In the complex and high-stakes world of construction, disputes are not just common—they’re expected. However, the traditional path of litigation is often costly, time-consuming, and damaging to business relationships. Mediation, when approached strategically, offers a powerful alternative. By combining practical strategies and employing nuanced mechanics of mediation, construction professionals and attorneys can resolve disputes more efficiently and preserve valuable partnerships.
Brenda K. Radmacher is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s Construction practice, recently named a Law360 Practice Group of the year. She focuses her practice on construction law, working as a counselor, litigator, and noted speaker on issues involving landowners, developers, general contractors, and design professionals. Radmacher, based in Los Angeles, has a multi-faceted practice handling litigation and providing advice and transactional counsel to her construction industry clients.
In the complex and high-stakes world of construction, disputes are not just common—they’re expected. However, the traditional path of litigation is often costly, time-consuming, and damaging to business relationships. Mediation, when approached strategically, offers a powerful alternative. By combining practical strategies and employing nuanced mechanics of mediation, construction professionals and attorneys can resolve disputes more efficiently and preserve valuable partnerships.
Francine Griesing, Founder of Griesing Law, LLC, has been involved in every aspect of litigation and alternative dispute resolution over the past 40-plus years. For most of her career, she represented individual and institutional plaintiffs and defendants as an advocate in business litigation, employment, and alternative dispute resolution. Her clients included professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, law firms, public and privately held companies, nonprofits, higher education institutions, and government entities. With over 30 years of experience as a neutral arbitrator and mediator, she now concentrates on dispute prevention and resolution. You can contact her at [email protected].
Francine Griesing, Founder of Griesing Law, LLC, has been involved in every aspect of litigation and alternative dispute resolution over the past 40-plus years. For most of her career, she represented individual and institutional plaintiffs and defendants as an advocate in business litigation, employment, and alternative dispute resolution. Her clients included professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, law firms, public and privately held companies, nonprofits, higher education institutions, and government entities. With over 30 years of experience as a neutral arbitrator and mediator, she now concentrates on dispute prevention and resolution. You can contact her at [email protected].
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