Ehsan Ali - Founder and Mediator

Ehsan Ali is a practicing New York lawyer, arbitrator, dispute resolution specialist, and seasoned mediator. He resides in New York City and mediates with Venn Mediation and the New York Peace Institute.

A small town boy at heart, he grew up in rural Pennsylvania where he learned the art of reasoned disagreement, as well as the value of debate and discussion even - and perhaps especially - when people have fundamentally different beliefs.  

He attained his B.A. from American University, majoring in Communications, Law, Economics, Government and Philosophy.  It was there he began studying Peace and Conflict Resolution and thinking about how disputes are handled - and whether there are better ways forward than the prevailing wisdom. He went on to graduate with distinction from Columbia Law School. 

While an associate at a leading New York law firm, he worked on major national and international arbitral cases, successfully representing clients in major matters valued between $25,000,000 and $50,000,000.  Thereafter, he has served as outside general counsel to a number of startups handling a full range of matters including dispute resolution and contractual negotiations, particularly in the entertainment space.  This richly varied experience has given him a unique perspective on conflicts, especially those that are particularly heated and where it seems everything is at stake.   His current and former clients include Fortune 500 companies and hot up-and-coming startups operating in the New York area.  

Ehsan’s goal is to provide people and companies a better, faster, less expensive and more creative outlet to resolve their disputes.  He thinks that all too often people give up on ideal solutions because they don’t see how, or are too afraid, to ask for what they want.  He sees mediation as a heavily underused mechanism on the ADR spectrum that allows for more optimal, creative, satisfying, and durable resolutions to be reached by parties.  Most importantly, he sees mediation as a space where parties can get down to their real interests and reach a true meeting of the minds.  

Favorite Quote - “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” - Nelson Mandela