Laura C. Abrahamson, JAMS Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master Case Manager 

Laura C. Abrahamson has experience as an arbitrator, advocate and client in more than 100 arbitrations and major litigation matters and more than 50 mediations within the U.S. and significant jurisdictions around the world, including matters involving antitrust, complex commercial contracts, energy, engineering and construction, environmental, labour and employment, insurance coverage, intellectual property, securities and sports and entertainment.

Prior to joining JAMS, Ms. Abrahamson served as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and global head of litigation at AECOM, an American multinational firm that provides engineering, design, consulting and construction services, where she oversaw complex, cross-border disputes under the rules of major institutions. Previously, Ms. Abrahamson spent nearly 20 years in-house at Occidental Petroleum (OXY), where she led major litigation and domestic and international arbitration efforts. Her experience at OXY and AECOM included numerous plaintiffs’ domestic and international arbitration claims arising out of energy, power and construction infrastructure projects; most notably, an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Ecuador was recognized by Global Arbitration Review as the “Most Important Published Decision of 2012” and selected as the “2013 Global Dispute of the Year, Investment Arbitration” by The American Lawyer.

Prior to moving in-house, Ms. Abrahamson spent her first seven years of private practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, specializing in complex commercial litigation and arbitrations, including representing Big Four accounting firms in shareholder class actions following the 1980s savings and loan crisis and participating in four trials. She returned to private practice at O’Melveny & Myers from 2014 to 2016, focusing on energy and construction matters as well as domestic and international arbitration. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Ms. Abrahamson currently serves on the board of the CIArb, North America Branch. She also serves on the executive board of the California International Arbitration Council; the board of trustees of the Institute for Corporate Counsel; and as a member of and arbitrator for the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She is on the List of Arbitrators for the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) panel

Niki Borofsky, Senior Global Practice Manager at JAMS Local Solutions.

Ms. Borofsky is a Senior Global Practice Manager on JAMS Global Team. She is based out of New York, and responsible for business development, panel relations, thought leadership, and strategic marketing in regions including Europe, North America and the Middle East. She works to help promote Mediation, Arbitration, and other Alternative Dispute Resolution services, increase global understanding and use of JAMS’ International Arbitration and Mediation Rules and Procedures, and build business for JAMS panellists who have global practices. She is the Chair of JAMS’ In-House Counsel Committee dedicated to providing effective dispute mitigation and resolution solutions to corporate counsel worldwide.

Prior to joining JAMS, Ms. Borofsky worked as an international attorney in academia, business, and law firms including positions at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, ALSTOM, Latham & Watkins, and with Proskauer's International Arbitration group where she focused on complex international commercial arbitration and counselled multinational corporate clients on cross border disputes. She also worked as Vice President of Membership Services at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) where she was responsible for planning and executing the organization’s Annual Meetings.

A member of the New York and Massachusetts bars, and with an LLM in French and European Law from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Ms. Borofsky has authored several articles on global dispute resolution. She is also New York Peace Institute trained mediator, and has participated in training members of the NYPD in peaceful conflict resolution. Dedicated to improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in ADR, Ms. Borofsky is a Founding Member of the ADR Inclusion Network. She is a Board Member of the Latino Judges Association Foundation and a convener of the monthly ACR-GNY and CUNY Dispute Resolution Canter at John Jay College Breakfast Roundtable.

Jane Gunn is a highly sought after consultant, facilitator and speaker. She specializes in collaboration, cross-cultural communication and transforming business relationships and has helped open the eyes, hearts and minds of numerous companies to transform and secure the future of their organisation and the commitment and collaboration of their people.

As a trained mediator and facilitator she brings a diverse mix of skills, experience and insight that enable her to get people and groups with different priorities, incentives and ways of doing things, to work together successfully. She has a powerful message supported by practical tools and techniques that applies to organizations of all sizes across all sectors.

Jane is the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and is a former director and board member of the Civil Mediation Council of England and Wales (CMC). She is a past president of the Professional Speaking Association of the UK and Ireland (PSA UKI). She is also a member of the Advisory Committee to QUADRA in Italy.

She has been invited to speak at the United Nations, the White House, the European Commission and the International Energy Agency and has fulfilled a number of other international speaking engagements. She has worked with organisations large and small including Cable & Wireless, The NHS, BAA, Bacardi-Martini, McLaren Racing, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and many more.

She is also the author of two popular books on conflict management “How to Beat Bedlam in the Boardroom and Boredom in the Bedroom” and “The Authority Guide to Conflict Resolution”.

Isabel Phillips: Director of ADR and Mediation Development, CIArb (UK) 

Isabel is a conflict specialist and mediator with over 20 years of experience. She joined the full-time staff of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators at the start of 2021. She brings global experience in the application of complementary application of different forms of ADR, and the development of the skills and knowledge of those working in and with conflict and disputes.

Isabel’s mediation experience encompasses a wide range of domestic and international commercial disputes including construction, commercial contract, and employment disputes. She has designed, delivered, and evaluated interactive conflict training and dispute systems design for governments, IGOs, NGOs and commercial businesses across four continents. She has also spent five years working on conflict and disputes in deep-field, fragile and post-conflict environments including Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ethiopia.

Isabel is a qualified ‘Peace Specialist’ (Friedensfachkraft, AGQ 2000) a CEDR accredited mediator (2003), and was awarded her PhD (University of Bradford, 2017) on the theory and practice of mediation in commercial and socio-political contexts.

Molly M. Melin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of international relations and political methodology, with emphasis on international conflict and conflict management. She is also interested in strategic studies, international organizations and foreign policy decision-making. Her publications on third party interventions in international conflicts, the dynamics of conflict expansion, and peacekeeping operations have appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management and Peace Science, and International Interactions. Her recent book The Building and Breaking of Peace: Corporate Activities in Civil War Prevention and Resolution (Oxford University Press) explores the role of the private sector in peacebuilding.