Disputes between organizations and among individuals are an all-too-familiar feature of modern life. Lengthy court proceedings consume resources, damage relationships, and often yield outcomes that do not fully satisfy the real needs of the litigants. As a result, there is growing interest in the appropriate use of mediation, arbitration, and other out-of-court settlement processes.

Michael Wheeler has taught Mediation & Consensus Building the Harvard Law School. He has particular interest in innovative corporate policies and procedures that encourage early, efficient resolution of disputes between and within organizations. This includes the design of new on-line settlement systems, as well as consensus-building initiatives to resolve contentious public-policy cases.