Damali Peterman, Esq., is a distinguished ADR professional who joined JAMS in 2021. She brings over twenty years of experience as a mediator, conflict resolution trainer, ADR entrepreneur and corporate transactional lawyer in private and in-house practice to the disputes over which she presides and is highly-regarded for her use of innovative and engaging techniques designed to assist companies, institutions, nonprofits, government agencies and individuals prevent, manage, and resolve conflict.

Ms. Peterman has been active in many different areas of conflict resolution, including as a mediator, in a wide range of business and commercial, employment/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), intellectual property, higher education, family, and housing disputes. She has worked across a broad swath of industries, including those in the banking, utilities, telecommunications, entertainment, food and beverage, and retail fields.

In the higher education sector, Ms. Peterman facilitates complex, multi-party dialogues involving students, faculty, administrators, and external stakeholders on matters of governance, institutional policy, and divestiture. She is frequently engaged to mediate and design structured processes for addressing highly emotional and high-profile issues, fostering transparency, understanding, and trust among diverse constituencies. Her approach combines deep subject-matter sensitivity with practical problem-solving strategies that help institutions navigate challenging moments with integrity and clarity.

Prior to joining JAMS, she founded Breakthrough ADR, a global conflict resolution firm that helps organizations resolve conflict and teaches people how to listen, negotiate and resolve everyday situations in the workplace and beyond. Through Breakthrough ADR, she routinely addresses acute and chronic inter- and intra-company conflict and provides conflict resolution/mediation training and coaching to thousands of individuals and companies. Prior to establishing Breakthrough ADR, she  founded a law firm focusing on corporate and other business transactions. She was an assistant general counsel at Deloitte LLP and an associate at the global law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges having handled, at both institutions, corporate transactions including deal structuring and contract negotiations.

Ms. Peterman believes that, in addition to enabling positive business changes, ADR is critical to empowering positive social change. To this end, through Breakthrough ADR and community organizations, she has been privileged to train hundreds of law enforcement officers in New York City and elsewhere in ADR-based techniques aimed at de-escalating and resolving conflict without the use of force. She relishes seeing the breakthrough moments these officers routinely have as they progress through training and learn new techniques to help navigate conflict.

Ms. Peterman empowers her clients by instilling in them a sense of agency and self-determination during their disputes. She makes each person feel heard, understood, and appreciated by employing the exceptional listening and communication skills she has honed over the course of her long and distinguished career. She has a well-earned reputation as a creative problem solver. Indeed, counsel often comment on her ability to forge a path to resolution even for the most intractable of disputes.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Ms. Peterman has handled a wide range of corporate and business/commercial matters in a variety of industries as a Neutral and as counsel, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, corporate finance, fairness opinions, business combinations, restructuring deals, joint ventures, licensing, and real estate transactions.
• She is the author of Be Who You Are to Get What You Want (Penguin Random House/Bonnier Books) and the paperback Be Who You Are to Get What You Want, which Forbes ranked #5 on its list of the “10 Books That Will Make You A Better Negotiator.” The book was also selected by Amazon as an “Editors’ Pick” and “Best Book of the Year 2024,” and has been featured in a number of publications and media including The New York Post (a “best read for career development and life advice for mover and shakers"), Essence Magazine (“Top 15 Book Picks for Summer 2024”), and Ebony Magazine, among others.
• Ms. Peterman is also a sought-after writer and speaker, and has been featured in multiple magazines, newspapers, and television networks.
• She travels globally to teach workshops in negotiation and mediation and to judge mediation competitions and also instructs students, educators, and other professionals worldwide through virtual means. 
• Ms. Peterman is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Japanese.

Representative Matters

• Business & Commercial
• Mediated multiple commercial disputes across a variety of industries including banking, utilities, telecommunications, entertainment, food and beverage, and retail entities
• Mediated multiple cases between co-founders, boards of directors and management of various entities
• Mediated cases between general contractors and subcontractors regarding allegations of breach of contract
• Mediated contract disputes involving banks and credit card providers and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
• Mediated multiple cases between high-net-worth family members regarding elder care and financial planning
• Mediated commercial and residential real estate transactions and disputes
• Mediated dispute between former and new owners of a technology company concerning cryptocurrency payments and ownership rights allegedly owed to founding partners
• Mediated dispute between COO and employee of start-up consulting company involving alleged breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims, as well as counterclaims for alleged harms to business and recoupment of loan used to purchase cryptocurrency
• Represented client in connection with the acquisition of a major snack company in a cross-border transaction
• Represented client in sale of auto parts castings businesses in a cross-border transaction
• Represented client in the acquisition of wind power farms
• Represented financial advisor to board of directors in a $1.3 billion acquisition
• Represented financial advisor to board of directors in a $661 million acquisition
• Represented financial advisor to special committee of board of directors in a $24.4 billion going-private acquisition
• Represented client in drafting, negotiating, and amending co-venture and licensing agreements with major beauty brands
• Represented client with its senior notes offering
• Represented client in connection with financial guaranty insurance restructuring
• Employment Law
• Mediated several cases involving allegations of wrongful termination and discrimination based on age, race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, and retaliation
• Mediated high-value dispute involving technology startup founders addressing issues of control, valuation, and strategic direction amid evolving partnership dynamics
• Mediated employment dispute for a Big Five accounting and consulting firm involving multiple claims of discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment, requiring sensitivity to internal culture, leadership dynamics, and reputational considerations
• Mediated case involving allegations of race discrimination, hostile learning environment, and retaliation by claimant enrolled in a private religious educational institution
• Mediated matter involving alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and Connecticut’s Fair Employment Practices Act, General Statutes, and Equal Pay Act by  foreign industrial machining manufacturer
• Mediated wrongful termination action against engineering solutions company by executive for alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), ERISA, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other state-based fair employment practices acts and common law
• Mediated case involving allegations of associational discrimination, retaliation and related claims under the ADA and state law against nonprofit healthcare organization
• Mediated matter involving former employee’s claims against gaming company for alleged retaliatory discrimination, breach of contract,  and violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) 
• Mediated matter involving human resources executive’s allegations of race discrimination and retaliation against global fashion holding company
• Mediated alleged breach of contract allegations by finance executive against multinational investment banking company
• Mediated dispute involving allegations that global investment banking company violated New York law by failing to pay claimant the value of his vested contingent capital award pursuant to terms of bank’s share plan
• Mediated pre-litigation dispute involving allegations that multinational technology company discriminated against Indian former employee and retaliated against the employee by terminating the employee’s employment after they raised discrimination concerns and took a medical leave
• Mediated claims of age and gender discrimination against multinational music corporation
• Mediated dispute involving allegations that management consulting company discriminated and retaliated against terminated employee in violation of the FMLA and federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws 
• Mediated matter between former employee and insurance agency involving allegations of race discrimination, retaliation, and the failure to accommodate a disability 
• Mediated case involving allegations that Asian American female was discriminated against based on her age, gender, race and color, was subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliation, and was wrongfully terminated by computer services and technology solutions company
• Mediated multiple disputes involving claims of workplace sexual harassment
• Mediated multiple matters involving employees’ severance terms 
• Mediated several mediation cases pending before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities
• Higher Education & Title IX
• Mediated high-profile dispute involving tenured professor and university involving potential Title IX and state common law claims stemming from the university’s alleged mistreatment
• Mediated matter involving dispute between NCAA coach and university
• Mediated dispute involving staff claims against university

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Affiliations

• Admitted to practice law in New York State
• International Ombudsman Association, 2021
• National Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section, 2021
• Association for Conflict Resolution, Greater New York Chapter, 2019
• New York State Dispute Resolution Association, 2017
• New York City Bar Association, Women in the Legal Profession Committee, 2008
• American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section, 2008
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, 1998
  
  

Awards

• Woman Legal Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2023 Women Owned Law Awards, 2023
• Hudson Valley Women in Business Awards, 2022
• Social Change Agent of the Year, National Institute for Mentoring Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs (NIMBLE), 2019
• Semifinalist, Fulbright Global Scholar Award
• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Scholar/Tory Burch Foundation Alumni, 2018–2019
• Applause Award for Excellence in Client Service, Deloitte, 2017
  
  

Dispute Resolution Training

• Certificate: Harvard Business School Online, Negotiation Mastery Certificate, Summer 2020 
• Certificate: Cornell University ILR School, Professional Neutral Development Certificate, 2019–2020 
• Advanced commercial mediation training at the New York City Bar Association, 2018
• Special education mediation training at the New York Peace Institute and New York State Dispute Resolution Association, 2017
• Basic mediation training, advanced mediation training and a thirteen-week apprenticeship program at the New York Peace Institute, 2013–2014
• ADR courses as a part of J.D. program at Howard University School of Law, 2005–2008
• Mediation, negotiation, and commercial diplomacy courses as a part of M.A. program at Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, 2000–2002
• Mediation at the Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution/Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague, Netherlands, 2002

 
Selected Publications & Media References

• “’My Story’ Featuring N. Damali Peterman, Esq.,” JAMS ADR Insights, August 23, 2022
• “10 Books That Will Make You A Better Negotiator,” Forbes, September 11, 2025
• Negotiating While Black: Be Who You Are to Get What You Want (Penguin Random House 2024)
• Be Who You Are to Get What You Want (Bonnier Books 2024/Penguin Random House 2025)
• “How to Deal with Toxic Femininity at Work,” Fast Company, February 24, 2023
• “Authors Negotiating While Black: How to Be Who You Are to Get What You Want,” JAMS ADR News, July 13, 2022
• “Meet Damali Peterman. She Reveals the Ins and Outs of Negotiation,” NewsBreak, December 21, 2022
• “Putnam Nabs Peterman’s ’Negotiating,’” Publisher’s Weekly, June 17, 2022
• “These are the 5 Biggest Barriers for Black Professionals,” Fast Company, February 16, 2022
• “How to Improve Your Network of Diverse Neutrals,” JAMS ADR Insights, December 22, 2021
• “Here’s How to Handle Workplace Conflict as You Return to the Office,” Madame Noire, November 5, 2021
• “Tips to Navigate Conflict in the World of Social Media,” JAMS ADR Insights, October 28, 2021
• “Lessons from ADR: The Next Normal for Clients, Colleagues and Communities," JAMS ADR Insights, September 30, 2021 
• “N. Damali Peterman, Esq., The Latest Addition to the JAMS Panel, Advises How to Become a Better Mediator,” JAMS ADR Insights, September 24, 2021
• “Creating a Better Place: An interview With Breakthrough ADR Founder Damali Peterman,” Medium, February 2021
• “5 Tips for Managing Workplace Conflict in 2021,” Black Enterprise, February 2021
• “Meet Luminary Member Damali Peterman,” Luminary, June 2020
• “Conflict Resolution Expert Damali Peterman on COVID-19 and Small Business Owners,” The Network Journal, March 2020
• "Forward Females: Damali Peterman," Forward Females, November 2020
• “5 SMART Strategies to Resolve Business Conflict in the New Year,” CEOWORLD Magazine, December 2019

 
Selected Media Appearances

• “5 Powerful Tips for Improving Communication with Your Kids,” FOX Kansas, February 15, 2024
• “How to Ask for a Raise in 2024,” Morning Blend, WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, January 8, 2024
• “Therapy Thursday: Damali Peterman,” FOX4 Kansas City, December 8, 2023
• “Is Your Communication Style Harming Your Relationships?” NBC CT Live, November 27, 2023
• “Holiday Gathering Tips: Keeping the Peace,” PIX11 News New York, November 9, 2023
• “5 Signs It’s Time to Declutter Your Relationships,” Morning Blend, WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, July 17, 2023
• “5 Signs It’s Time to Declutter Your Relationships,” Good Day Chicago, FOX32 Chicago, April 12, 2023
• “Healing Family Relationships,” WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, January 24, 2023
• “Can Speaking Out Online Come at a Cost,” BNC GO, November 3, 2022
• “How to React When Triggered,” FOX5 Washington D.C., April 2, 2022
• “Listen to Your ‘HEART!’” NBC CT Live, February 8, 2022
• “De-Escalating Child Custody Battles,” FOX5 Washington D.C., February 12, 2022
• “The Biggest Barriers Facing Black Professionals in 2022,” Cheddar, February 2, 2022
• “Discuss How You Can R.E.S.E.T. Your Relationships,” NBC CT LIVE, January 12, 2022
• “Tips for Improving Your Relationship in the New Year,” FOX32 Chicago, December 31, 2021
• “A Champion of Conflict Resolution: N. Damali Peterman in Conversation with Charan Sandhu,” Weil Alumni Interview Series, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, November 2021
• “Tips for How to Handle Social Media Fights from Conflict Resolution Expert Damali Peterman,” KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, May 2021
• “Fox Kansas News Clip BREATHE,” WDAF-TV, Kansas City, Missouri, February 2021
• “FOX 24 News Now: Conflict Resolution and Personal Growth in 2021,” WTAT-TV, Charleston, South Carolina, January 2021
• “CT Live! Tips to Make Your Holidays Drama-Free,” WVIT-TV, Hartford, Connecticut, December 2020
• “How to Have a Drama-Free Thanksgiving,” Washington, D.C., November 2020
• “Keeping the Peace While You Are Stuck in the House," WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C., March 2020
• “CT Live! Top 5 Tips for Conflict Resolution,” WVIT-TV, Hartford, Connecticut, February 2020
• Ms. Peterman’s varied media and publication appearances and references also include: Forbes, Medium, FOX (San Francisco, Houston), Great Day Washington, KTLA, Better CT, Black News Channel, Rolling Out, NY Trend, Holistic Wealth, She’s Off Script, and Thrive Global.

Podcasts

Ms. Peterman is a podcast professional who, since 2019, has hosted her own podcast, “Breakthrough Barriers with Damali.” She and a co-host have published over sixty podcast episodes designed to help callers navigate conflict in a variety of milieus involving business, personal, family, and societal challenges. She has also appeared as a guest speaker on numerous other podcasts.

Background and Education

• Breakthrough ADR, LLC, 2016–present
• Chief Executive Officer
• Damali Law LLC, 2016–present
• Chief Executive Officer
• Howard University School of Law, 2020–present 
• Adjunct Professor
• ADR Program Advisory Board Member
• Deloitte LLP, 2014–2016
• Assistant General Counsel
• Weil, Gotshal & Manges, 2008–2013
• Senior Associate
• Lawyers Alliance for New York, 2011
• Secondee
• Global Young Leaders Conference, 2005
• Faculty Advisor
• Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center, 2003–2004
• Assistant Director
• Community Outreach Coordinator
• The Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution, The Hague, Netherlands, Summer 2002
• Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Nagoya, Japan, Summer 2001
• Denmark International Studies Program, Copenhagen, Denmark, Fall 1999
• Centro de Idiomas, Oaxaca, Mexico, Summer 1999
• J.D., Howard University School of Law, 2008
• M.A., Middlebury Institute of International Studies, 2002
• B.A., Spelman College, 2000