Preparing Mediation Statements
Mediation statements offer parties an alternative approach to preparing for the mediation by having each party define success in advance, which in turn increases the chance of reaching an agreement.
Aaron Arzu
James Duane
Roy Baroff
Nnena Odim
Chuck Doran
Lisa Pomerantz
Aaron Arzu
Mediator and Mentor with MWI
Phone: 617-895-4028 | Email: jhoch@mwi.org
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Aaron A. Arzu is a creative problem solver and trusted adviser with deep experience guiding clients through the complexities of modern business and regulation. As a business owner himself, he understands the challenges his clients face and helps them minimize liability, maintain compliance, and achieve their goals. His practice includes conducting internal investigations, negotiating with government agencies, defending clients in state and federal courts, and advising on administrative law and corporate governance.
In addition to his legal practice, Aaron is an experienced facilitative mediator, qualified under Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 233, §23C). He has mediated cases across multiple Massachusetts courts and facilitated disputes for private companies, nonprofits, and housing organizations. He also trains mediation professionals and is pursuing certification as a SIMI-accredited mediator in international commercial disputes through the Singapore International Mediation Centre.
Before co-founding The Arzu Law Group LLC, Aaron was a senior litigation associate at Duane Morris LLP and began his career as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Harvard University (cum laude), he is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts, and federal courts. Beyond the law, he is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and former Resident Chef at Sur La Table in Boston, as well as founder of Creative Culinary Innovations, a private chef and consulting business.
James Duane
Mediator & Arbitrator
Case Manager: Clarice Parsons, 617-895-4030 | cparsons@mwi.org
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Dispute Resolution Experience
Jim Duane is an experienced full-time mediator and arbitrator. In addition to his private dispute resolution practice, he serves as an arbitrator and mediator with MWI in Boston and the Cape Cod Dispute Resolution Center. He serves as a panelist for the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Commercial Arbitrators. Jim’s effectiveness as a mediator and arbitrator is attributable to his intelligence, fairness, measured temperament, over 40 years of experience as a civil litigator, and the numerous board and leadership positions he has held in higher and elementary education, as well as for various other non-profits.
As a mediator and arbitrator, Jim brings a deep reservoir of experience from his prior litigation, trial, and appellate work. Over his lengthy career, Jim has been recognized by various professional organizations, including Super Lawyers as a leading alternative dispute resolution professional and both Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers as a leading insurance coverage lawyer for both coverage and bad faith litigation and advice. He is highly regarded for his intellect and integrity by fellow members of the bar, the judiciary, and clients.
Jim brings other key skills and assets to his work as a mediator and arbitrator, which contribute to his effectiveness in the dispute-resolution arena: his patience, compassion, listening skills, and communication skills, as well as creativity, tenacity, and a deep regard for the law.
Focus Areas
- Mediation and arbitration services related to:
- Insurance and bad faith
- Professional liability
- Medical malpractice
- General liability
- Construction defect
- Environmental, Commercial, and Business disputes
- Employment law
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
- Lehigh University Board of Trustees (1980-1983, 1998-2010), Trustee Emeritus (2010- Present), Chair, Audit Committee (1999-2001), Student Affairs Committee (2002-2010), Subcommittee on University Governance and Faculty Appointments (2004-2010)
- Lehigh University Alumni Association Board of Directors (1978-1983, 1991-1993, 1996- 2001), President (1997-1998)
- The Learning Project Elementary School, Board of Trustees (1994-2003, 2013-Present), Chair (2013-Present)
- Friends of Metro Boston (1989-Present) The Friends provide recreational and social opportunities for the clients of the Massachusetts Department of Health
- The Esplanade Association Board of Directors (2001-2013)
- Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields Board of Directors (2006-2013)
Roy Baroff
Mediator and Mediation Trainer with MWI
Phone: 919-889-1656 | Email: roy-ombuds@mwi.org
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Roy Baroff is an experienced attorney, mediator, ombuds, and educator. As an attorney he handled civil litigation including trial and hearing experience along with negotiating a range of settlements. He became a Certified Mediator in 1992 for the NC Dispute Resolution Commission Superior Court Mediation program and has retained this certification since then. Roy is also certified for Family Financial and Clerk of Court cases in North Carolina and has mediated over a 1000 cases in and out of the legal system over the last 40 years.
Roy also serves as a mediator and facilitator for the Town of Chapel Hill and has mediated employment matters from the EPA Office of Civil Rights. Roy previously served as Chair for the North Carolina Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and recently retired as a member of the NC Academy of Superior Court Mediators and the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Roy recently received the designation of Super Lawyer for Alternative Dispute Resolution for 2023.
Roy focuses his education and training in mediation and negotiation including programs for lawyers, judges, undergraduate and graduate students, the military, and university faculty. He taught conflict resolution courses at UNC Greensboro, UNC Chapel Hill School of Government, and Elon School of law where he currently serves as extended faculty teaching a Negotiation class each year. Roy has also provided negotiation/mediation training for the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. When Roy teaches and conducts trainings, he combines theory and experience into practical skills.
Roy most recently completed 7+ years of service as the faculty and staff ombuds for NC State University in Raleigh, NC. Roy also served a 4-year elected term to the International Ombuds Association (IOA) Board of Directors (2018 – 22). Roy joined the IOA in 2007 when he completed initial organizational ombuds training and obtained the Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (COOP) designation in 2017 (renewed in 2021). In February 2022 Roy served as a trainer for the IOA Foundations course that teaches the ombuds role.
Roy has a bachelors (BA) degree in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a masters (MA) degree in Anthropology from the University of South Florida, and a law degree (JD) from UNC Chapel Hill School of Law.
Nnena Odim
Organizational Ombuds
nnena-ombuds@mwi.org
Nnena Odim is a mediator, ombuds, attorney, trainer, and consultant. She has been mediating since 1997, and has mediated disputes involving issues such as employment, housing, business, consumer, academic/higher education, and the full range of family/domestic relations (divorce, unmarried parents, elder care, adoption, etc.). Nnena has also designed and/or led conflict management trainings for several local and national businesses and agencies, including the Boston Public Schools, Massachusetts Housing Authority, Neighborhood Works, Coca-Cola, and Netflix. In addition to her mediation and conflict resolution training background, Nnena is trained by the International Ombuds Association and has served as an ombuds for CVS, the American Planning Association, and several local construction companies. After 25 years, Nnena has recently retired from Harvard Law School, where she was the Director and Senior Clinical Instructor of the Family/Domestic Violence Law Clinic at Harvard’s Legal Services Center. In addition to being an active practicing attorney in Massachusetts Family and Probate Courts, she provided experiential training to law students and taught them how to become effective and ethical attorneys.
Nnena has worked with the Harvard Mediation Program (HMP) and Harvard Program on Negotiation to provide trainings for students and community members, and to supervise Harvard Law School students in their mediation and negotiation studies. She served as a faculty and coach of mediation skills for trainings at Suffolk and Boston College Law Schools, MIT, and New England School of Law. Nnena has also served on numerous panels and speaking rosters for a variety of topics, including those on self-care and mental health for students and faculty, establishing boundaries in a professional setting, race and gender, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Nnena is a member of the HMP Advisory Board. In 2019, Nnena was honored by the Harvard Women’s Law Association International Committee. In 2015, she received the Harvard Law School Dean’s Award for Excellence, and in 2013, Nnena was a Top Women in the Law award recipient from Mass. Lawyers Weekly.
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Chuck Doran
Mediating Workplace and Franchise Matters | Organizational Ombuds | Mediation & Negotiation Trainer
cdoran@mwi.org
Dispute Resolution Experience
Chuck Doran is an experienced mediator and organizational ombuds specializing in the resolution of employment, franchise, and other commercial disputes. A mediator since 1992, he is a member of the CPR Dispute Resolution Panel of Distinguished Neutrals and the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Chuck has provided mediation and other ADR services to a variety of clients including AT&T, Bose, BMW of North America, Coca-Cola, CVS Health, General Motors, Oxfam America, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), and the USPS REDRESS I and REDRESS II Mediation Panels. Chuck is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (CO-OP) and a member of the International Ombuds Association who completed ombuds training with the IOA in 1995. Chuck has served as an outsourced organizational ombuds for companies, universities, and other organizations since 1997 and received a President’s Award from the IOA in 2024. In 1993, Chuck completed a Specialization in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. In 1994, Chuck founded MWI, a nationally recognized dispute resolution service and training organization based in Boston, MA that provides individual and corporate clients with mediation services, organizational ombuds services, negotiation consulting and training, and mediation training. Chuck has served as a teaching assistant on multiple occasions with Professor Roger Fisher at Harvard Law School’s Program of Instruction for Lawyers Negotiation Workshop. In 1993, Chuck completed a Specialization in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at the Program on Negotiation and chaired two regional ADR Conferences in 1997 and 1999. Chuck served as a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution and was Chair of the Qualifications Subcommittee. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Advisory Group and is a past president of the Association for Conflict Resolution, New England Chapter. Chuck is also a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators (IAM) and a past president of IAM’s Board of Governors.
Representative Clients
- General Motors: Serves as a national mediator for disputes between Dealers and GM involving audit, incentive programs, and fleet sales matters; Designed and led the GM Mediation and Arbitration Training Program, which provided training to hundreds of GM Dealer and Corporate Mediators; Responsible for oversight and design improvements of the national mediation and arbitration program managed by MWI for General Motors.
- BMW of North America: Mediator for a variety of matters involving BMW Motor Cars and Motorcycles. Responsible for oversight and design improvements of the national mediation and arbitration program managed by MWI for BMW of North America;
- USPS and EEOC: Contract workplace and employment mediator with the United States Postal Service and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, mediating federal discrimination, termination, and other matters relating to the workplace;
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
- Distinguished Fellow and Executive Committee Board Member (Past President), Board of Governors – The International Academy of Mediators (IAM) (2013 – Present);
- Appointed to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution and was Chair of the Qualifications Subcommittee (1999-2003);
- President and Director of the Association for Conflict Resolution, New England Chapter (NE-ACR) (formerly the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution – SPIDR). Elected to serve as President and former President-Elect and Director of the six-state regional chapter of ACR International (1997-2004);
- Chair, Massachusetts Budget Coalition. Led statewide collaborative effort with 15 mediation providers across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to secure over $950,000 in legislative funding for court-connected mediation services (1997-2000);
- Advisory Board Member, Dispute Resolution Section, Massachusetts Bar Association (2018 to present).
- Arbitrator with the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Fee Arbitration Board (1996 to present).
Lectures and ADR Trainings Conducted
- Mediation Trainer. Designed and served as lead trainer for over seventy-five 20 to 40-hour basic and advanced training programs, totaling over 2250 hours since 1994. Mediation training clients include Coca-Cola, Bose Corporation, MWI, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and the Harvard Mediation Program at Harvard Law School.
- Negotiation Instructor and Presenter. Chuck has worked nationally and internationally with top sales, procurement, and delivery professionals to diagnose and resolve negotiation challenges across multiple industries, including financial/consulting, healthcare, and high tech. Served as a negotiation instructor for the internationally attended “Program of Instruction for Lawyers” Negotiation Workshop at Harvard Law School as a teaching assistant to Professor Roger Fisher on multiple occasions.
Background and Education
- Graduate: Completed a Specialization in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at the Program On Negotiation, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA (1993);
- Undergraduate: B.A., Philosophy, Binghamton University, SUNY, Binghamton, NY; President Philosophy Club / Tenure Committee (1989).
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Lisa Pomerantz
Mediating & Arbitrating Workplace & Employment Matters with MWI
Case Manager: Josh Hoch, 617-895-4028 or jhoch@mwi.org
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Dispute Resolution Experience
Lisa Pomerantz is an Arbitrator and Mediator with MWI. She also serves as a neutral on the American Arbitration Association Commercial, Consumer, and Employment Panels, the EDNY Mediation Panel, and various New York State mediation panels. She has represented numerous employees and employers as settlement counsel in resolving a variety of employment-related disputes involving statutory and/or contract claims.
Focus Areas
- Workplace
- Employment
- Higher Education
- Healthcare
- Family Businesses
- Restrictive Covenants, Compensation and Commission Claims, and other contract issues
- Employment Discrimination
- FLSA and other statutory claims
- Recruiter Commission Dispute
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
- Member, EDNY Advisory Council (2020-2022)
- Past Co-Chair, Suffolk County Bar Association ADR Committee
- Past Board Member, New York State Dispute Resolution Association (2011-2015)
- Past Board Member, Association for Conflict Resolution (2014-2015)
- Recipient, Long Island Business News Leadership in Law Award (2011 and 2017)
- Recipient, Association for Conflict Resolution, Exemplary Leadership Award (2015)
- Author, “Workplace Violence Prevention: Personal Concerns and Professional
Opportunities for Conflict Resolution Practitioners”, ACResolution Magazine, Summer 2014
Lectures and ADR Trainings Conducted
- Adjunct Professor, Texas A&M Law School, (2025 to date), Employment Law
- Adjunct Professor, Touro Law School, (2018 to date), Courses taught include: Employment Law, Arbitration, and Interviewing, Negotiating and Counseling
- Visiting Instructor, Vilnius University, Lithuania (2020), Emerging Legal Issues in the 21st Century Workplace
- Visiting Instructor, University of Tartu, Estonia (2018, 2019), Negotiation and Conflict
Resolution
Representative Speaking Engagements
- “Managing and Resolving Conflict in Healthcare Workplaces”, 2024 Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference
- “Navigating Challenges in Family Business”, 2023 Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference
- “Overcoming Challenges in Virtual Mediations”, 2021 Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference
- “The Value of Transparency in Mediation”, 2020 Annual Conferences of the Association for Conflict Resolution and New York State Dispute Resolution Association;
- “Common Attributes and Challenges of High-Emotion Conflicts in the Workplace and Family Business Settings”, International Mediation Symposium (2019)
- “Business Partnerships: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” Stony Brook Small Business Development Center (2019)
- “Building Your Business Through Diversity and Inclusion”, Suffolk Academy of Law (2018)
Background and Education
- Boston University (JD-1979)
- Harvard University (BA, Economics and History, cum laude-1976)
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