About The Academy

Introduction

The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals is an invitation-only professional association whose membership consists of mediators & arbitrators distinguished by their hands-on experience
in the field of civil & commercial dispute resolution

Watch our YOUTUBE video below for a brief overview of how NADN assists thousands of law firms, monthly:

Our History

With over 1000 members throughout the United States as of 2020, the NADN is the most extensive public roster of experienced ADR attorneys available online.

NADN was established in 2008 following a conference of the committees of several statewide associations, including:

  • the Florida Circuit-Civil Mediator Society
  • the California Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
  • the North Carolina Academy of Superior Court Mediators
  • the Georgia Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators
  • the Tennessee Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators

Original members of these associations are all recognized as “Charter Members” of NADN.

The Academy makes our roster of litigator-rated mediators and arbitrators available at no cost to visitors - simply search our website for professionals with the pertinent case experience, ADR expertise, or by preferred region.

The Academy's members can be contacted directly, or scheduled online, with no consulting or administrative fees charged. There is clear demand from attorneys, corporate counsel, adjustors and individual parties to know more specific information about a given neutral: their experience, qualifications & certifications, language skills, the types of litigation they have previously successfully mediated/arbitrated, and so on.

Our Academy website allows visitors to find the most experienced ADR professionals, as widely approved by local litigation firms, and expedites the scheduling process for both mediators/arbitrators and their clients.

In May 2013, both the DRI (Defense Research Institute, www.DRI.org) and AAJ (American Association for Justice, www.Justice.org) approved NADN as an industry partner (see Press Release).

NADN continues to work with both organizations, promoting the NADN roster to their combined membership of over 40,000 litigators via ongoing advertising in their flagship national publications.

The DRI's national website includes a specialized version of the NADN database, the DRI Neutrals Database (news link). NADN also surveys defense and plaintiff firms every 2 years, allowing us to assess which civil mediators and arbitrators are most widely acceptable to both sides of the Bar in each state.

From this extensive research and outreach from 2013-2015, NADN was able to expand our roster to include members in every state in the nation. As of 2020, NADN has 42 formal State Chapters, each overseen by local Exec. Committee members.

2020: The Canadian Academy

We’re pleased to announce our sister association, the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals following over a year of research and collaboration.

Our staff undertook a survey of over 600 trial and defense lawyers across Canada, from more than 400 firms. We asked Canadian litigators to name their “go to” mediators & arbitrators, across many different fields of civil practice. This survey - the largest ever under undertaken in Canada - allowed us to isolate names of ADR professionals widely trusted by both sides of the bar.

Our Canadian Academy charter roster was finalized SEPTEMBER 2020, with the launch of our Canadian national portal, www.Mediators.ca and our provincial chapter sites, www.OntarioMediators.org, www.BCMediators.org, www.AlbertaMediators.org, and www.AtlanticMediators.org.

CADN's member roster is promoted through advertising and sponsorships with prominent legal associations and publications throughout the country, including the Advocates Society, the Ontario Bar and BC Trial Lawyers associations.

ANNUAL PEER VOTES, REVIEW & INDUCTIONS
As with NADN, CADN’s roster is locked down for each calendar year, with new members inducted in January. Beyond 2020, membership to CADN will remain invite only, with nominees put forward by 2 peer votes. All Academy members in the US and Canada are found to meet strict practice requirements. Inductions are subject to final approval by our Executive Director and provincial Executive Committee Members.

Academy Members Only