Joan C. Grafstein, Esq. has been a full time mediator, arbitrator, and special master since 2003.  She has resolved hundreds of complex high stakes disputes in many areas including business/commercial, class action, employment, ERISA, healthcare systems, higher education, personal injury, product liability, real property, securities, and software development.  She brings to her dispute resolution practice over twenty years' experience as in-house counsel for large public and private research universities where she managed litigation and mediation and handled a wide variety of claims and business disputes.

Ms. Grafstein is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Secretary/Treasurer of the Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Georgia, Secretary of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society, past Chair of the Women in the Profession Section of the Atlanta Bar Association, and has served as the program co-chair for the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution's last three annual meetings.  She speaks and writes frequently on dispute resolution topics including e-discovery in arbitration, women in negotiation, arbitration and mediation in China, cost effective commercial arbitration, faculty tenure disputes, ADR in institutional settings, ethics in arbitration, and arbitration practice pointers for Georgia litigators.

• J.D., summa cum laude, First In Class, University of Georgia School of Law, 1979
• A.B., Government, Barnard College, Columbia University, 1967

• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Secretary, Atlanta International Arbitration Society
• Secretary/Treasurer, Dispute Resolution Section, State Bar of Georgia
• Chair, Atlanta Bar Association Women in the Profession Section 2009-2010
• Program Co-Chair, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Spring 2010-2012 Annual Conferences
• Program Chair and Co-Chair, 4th and 5th Annual Arbitration Institutes, State Bar of Georgia Dispute Resolution Section, August 2010-2011
• Panelist, "E-Discovery in International and Domestic Arbitration," 6th Annual Arbitration Institute, State Bar of Georgia Dispute Resolution Section and ICLE, August 2012
• Beijing Arbitration Commission Panel of Arbitrators
• Member:  FINRA Dispute Resolution Board of Arbitrators; American Bar Association Sections of Business Law, Employment Law, Dispute Resolution, and International Law; State Bar of Georgia Sections of Dispute Resolution Intellectual Property, and Labor & Employment Law
• Registered Neutral, Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution
• Publications include:  "Arbitration," book chapter in Business Litigation in Georgia, forthcoming, 2013; ""Women in Negotiation."  The Atlanta Lawyer, January 2008; ""Developments in Party-Appointed Cases," Dispute Resolution News, Spring 2004; Author, "Improving Commercial Arbitration:  The View of an Arbitrator and Former In-House Counsel," LexisNexis, April 30, 2010.
• Frequent speaker on arbitration and mediation topics at national conferences including at the following Annual Section Meetings of the American Bar Association:  panel chair and moderator, "Caseload Trends in China:  A Look Into the Future of Asian Arbitration and Mediation," (2012), ABA Dispute Resolution Section Annual Spring Meeting; panel chair and moderator, "Current Trends in International Arbitration" (2010) at ABA Business Law Section; panel co-chair, "The Evolving State of Arbitration in China:  Can a Foreign Party Get a Fair Hearing and an Enforceable Award?" (2009) at Fall Meeting, ABA International Law Section; panel chair, "Women in Negotiation" (2008) and "Arbitration of Employment Disputes" (2006), Annual Meeting of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section; presenter, "Faculty Tenure Denials:  Current Law and Practical Tips" (2004) at Mid-year Meeting, National Association of College and University Attorneys; Panelist, "Developments in Arbitration Ethics," (2004) and "ADR in Institutional Settings" (2000) Annual Georgia ADR Institute.

Please call JAMS ATLANTA at (404) 588-0900