Harold Coleman, Jr., is an award-winning dispute resolution practitioner, educator, and peace-building champion. He is an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, conciliator, facilitator, teacher, trainer, speaker, writer and conflict coach.
Harold is senior vice president for mediation at the American Arbitration Association (AAA)… the global dispute resolution leader, and mediator/executive director for AAA Mediation.org…an AAA technology innovation that trains and develops mediators, assists them with promoting their practices, and connects them with a diverse community of ADR practitioners, users and thought leaders worldwide. He also trains new AAA arbitrators and aspiring/practicing mediators in basic/advanced arbitration case management techniques and basic/advanced mediation skills.
A former multi-disciplinary project manager and complex litigation attorney, Harold’s mediated and arbitrated multiplied hundreds of litigated and non-litigated disputes over a 30+ year legal and ADR career. His formal education encompasses studies in civil engineering, business, real estate and law, leading to the academic degrees of Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctor. He is a former member of the AAA’s international board of directors, a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), and a director for the International Mediation Institute (IMI). He is program co-chair for the American Bar Association’s Advanced Mediation & Advocacy Skills Training Institute.
Harold is recipient of the State Bar of California’s Distinguished Service to the Legal Profession citation and twice recipient of the Wiley E. Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Services to the Poor. He was nominated, vetted for, and profiled in the National Law Journal’s Legal Times as an ADR Champion for 2017. In 2018 he was conferred the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution’s 2018 Chair’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2020 the National Bar Association (NBA) awarded Harold the Meritorious Service citation for his support of NBA ADR diversity initiatives and service to its membership through professional development training, mentorship and guidance during a long-standing, multi-decade partnership of AAA and NBA.
Harold also is recipient of the Southern California Mediation Association’s (SCMA) 2020 Cloke-Millen Peacemaker of the Year Award, SCMA’s highest honor bestowed on individuals who inspire the ADR community and public at large with their dedication to peacemaking.
Harold serves the global ADR community from the Association’s Southern California and New York offices. Contact: ColemanH@aaamediation.org; direct 619.794.6001; www.aaamediation.org