Verlyn Francis, J.D., LL.M. (ADR)
VERLYN FRANCIS is a an experienced international arbitrator and mediator in Commercial, Civil, Consumer, Estates, Family, and Disability disputes. She is the Principal ADR Consultant at Isiko Dispute Resolution Consultants Inc.
Ms. Francis has used her technological expertise to conduct hearings by videoconference since 2015. In addition to her independent arbitration and mediation work in Canada, she is a roster arbitrator and mediator on the Global and General Commercial panels of CPR Panels of Distinguished Neutrals (CPR), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the National Bar Association – ADR Section (NBA-ADR).
Verlyn also teaches arbitration, mediation, and negotiation up to the master’s level. She is a professor of ADR at Lincoln Alexander School of Law and Humber Institute of Advanced Learning, Toronto, Canada; visiting professor of Advanced Negotiation for Master of International Business students at La Salle EMCI in Lyon, France; and guest lecturer in the LL.M. Dispute Resolution Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. She also taught Ethics and Professional Responsibility to lawyer candidates for the Ontario Bar. She practised law in Toronto for over 20 years in the areas of civil litigation, family, estates and corporate/commercial law.
She publishes, trains, and presents on Arbitration, Mediation, the Impact of Culture on Conflict, Conflict Resolution, and Process Design,. Verlyn is the author of numerous papers and articles including: Ethics in Arbitration: Bias, Diversity and Inclusion (2020) 51:2 Cumberland Law Rev.; Teaching Dispute Resolution in a Multicultural Environment; Culture in Clinical Care Conflict Management (presentation at Toronto General Hospital); Designing Emotional Support into Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (2016) 23 Willamette J. of Int’l Law & Disp Resol at 274; and Infusing Dispute Resolution Teaching and Training with Culture and Diversity, (2018), 33 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol.
She holds J.D. and LL.M. (ADR) degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997.
Verlyn is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Canada Branch, the ADR Institute of Canada, ADR Institute of Ontario (inducted into the President’s Circle), Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR), American Bar Association (ABA), Law Society of Ontario (LSO), National Bar Association (NBA), the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), Black Female Lawyers Association, Women’s Law Association of Ontario (WLAO), and Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA).
ADR Experience
Ms. Francis has practised mediation since 1999 and arbitration since 2009.
She also teaches Dispute Resolution in Business and Law Schools.
Areas Of Practice
- Accidents
- ADA
- Adoption
- Adult Family
- Advertising/Public Relations
- Art
- Boundary Disputes
- Bullying
- Business
- Civil (general)
- Civil Rights (discrimination)
- Civil Union Dissolution
- Commercial
- Congregational
- Construction (all areas)
- Contracts
- Divorce (all issues)
- Education
- EEOC
- Elder
- Employment
- Environmental
- Estate Planning
- Evictions
- Faith Based
- Family
- Financial Services
- Foreclosure
- Franchise
- Government
- Hospitality/Travel/Restaurant
- International
- Labor - Management
- Landlord - Tenant
- Legal Malpractice
- Legal Services
- LGBTQ
- Medical Malpractice
- Non-Profits
- Organizational
- Parent-Teen
- Partnership
- Personal Injury
- Police
- Prenuptial
- Probate
- Professional Fees
- Real Estate (all areas)
- School/Education
- Sexual Harassment
- Trust Management
- Workplace
ADR Training
- CPR - Tech and ADR: New Ethical Concerns and ODR Standards - 27 June 2023 - 1.5 hours
- CPR - Dispute Resolution & Relationship Management - 10-12 November 2022 - 17.5 hours
- FMCS - Facilitating Difficult Discussions with Difficult People - 29 July 2022 - 3 hours
- Lincoln Alexander School of Law - Human Rights at 60: Reflecting and Reimagining - 23 June 2022 - 6 hours
- FINRA - Dispute Resolution: Understanding the Prehearing Stage - 22 June 2022 - 1 hour
- Harvard University - Rethinking Systems Design for Racial Justice and Equity - 8 April 2022 - 3 hours
- Stanford University - Rethinking Systems Design for Racial Justice & Equity - 25 February 2022 - 3 hours
- CIArb (Canada Branch) - Demystifying Arbitration Math: Introduction to Damage Quantification Methodologies - 24 February 2022 - 1 hour
- CPR - Imperfect Impartiality: How Neutrals can Combat Implicit Bias - 28 Sept 2021 - 1.5 hours
- American Bar Association – 2021 Arbitration Institute – 16 – 25 June 2021 – 9.5 hours
- Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC) – Arbitration from Note to Tail – 6, 13 May 2021 – 3 hours
- CPR Employment Arbitrator Pathways Training – 30 June 2020 - 7 hours
- Practical Ethics for Working Mediators – ADRIO – 8 hours
- Arbitration Practicum – AAA – 2.5 hours
- Mediation Practicum – American Arbitration Association (AAA) – 2.5 hours
- Ethical Dimensions of ADR – Mediation Ethics – AAA - 3.5 hours
- Arbitration Training - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) – 20 hours
- Adjudicator Training – Social Security Tribunal, Government of Canada – 40 hours - 2014
- Adjudicator Training Course - Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) – 40 hours - 2009
- Advanced Family Mediation – Family Mediation Canada - 40 hours - 1999
- Dispute Settlement – Osgoode Hall Law School – 40 hours - 1994
Awards
- President's Circle - ADR Institute of Ontario
Publications & Presentations
- Ethics in Arbitration: Bias, Diversity and Inclusion (2020) 51:2 Cumberland Law Rev.
- Infusing Dispute Resolution Teaching and Training with Culture and Diversity, (2018) 33:2 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. at 171
- Teaching Dispute Resolution in a Multicultural Environment, (2017) 26:2 Can Arb & Mediation J 34; http://adric.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ADRIC_JOURNAL_2017_Vol26_No2.pdf
- Designing Emotional and Psychological Support into Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (2016) 23 Willamette J. of Int’l Law & Disp Resol at 274.
Education
- Master of Laws (LL.M.) (ADR) – York University, Osgoode Hall Law School – October 2013 to October 2016
- Certified Mediator – Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) – 8 May 2009
- Advanced Family Mediator Certificate – Family Mediation Canada & Law Society of Upper Canada – 30 May 1999
- Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) / Juris Doctor (J.D.) – York university, Osgoode Hall Law School – September 1992 to June 1995