Marcie Dickson, Alterity ADR Founder & CEO in Atlanta. (Courtesy photo)

A company that attorneys say is the nation's first national dispute-resolution firm founded and operated by a Black woman launched Monday, with a staff as diverse as the company's mission. Based in Atlanta, Alterity Resolution Services is open for business under the lead of founder and CEO Marcie Dickson.

Alterity Resolution Services, LLC (Alterity ADR), founded by Marcie Dickson in Atlanta. (Courtesy photo)

"What I'm most proud of as a Black woman working in a space that is not entirely inclusive, is the fact that I was able to step away from my old role and build the company in three months," Dickson said. "I work in an industry that makes us feel that we can't create opportunities like this for ourselves, and I'm clearly disproving that by doing this." After more than five years handling marketing, business development, growth strategy, neutral recruiting and spearheading a diversity initiative at Miles Mediation and Arbitration in Atlanta, Dickson decided to step out on her own. And she's created a solution to a problem the former chief marketing and business development officer had grown tired of seeing in the alternative dispute resolution sector. "The legal industry, in general, is not very diverse, but in ADR it's just glaringly obvious," Dickson said. "The impetus for wanting to create the organization was to make the dispute resolution industry more inclusive and to make more meaningful work opportunities available to diverse neutrals, women, neutrals of color and all of the other practitioners in this space that are often overlooked when it comes to arbitration appointments and opportunities to grow their ADR practices." |

Heavy Hitters

Now, with the national company's launch Monday, Dickson's vision has become reality. But not without the guidance of heavy hitters in the diversity and ADR arenas, including former Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, former American Bar Association President Linda Klein and former general counsel for Coca-Cola Co., Bradley Gayton.

Bradley Gayton, former general counsel for The Coca Cola Co. Courtesy photo

"Linda Klein and Leah Ward Sears were very supportive of the idea and wanted to be affiliated with the panel," Dickson said. "I reached out to Mr. Gayton about serving on the advisory board." Dickson said Gayton, who joined the board of directors at Vertex Inc. in May, had been supportive, having agreed to serve as chairman of Alterity's advisory board, but that he would not be handling any alternative dispute resolutions. "To date, [he] has been a mentor [and] a very great, strategic, high-level visionary in terms of helping us shape the business, even though he is the advisory board chairman," Dickson said. "He just really believes in what we're doing and has been very helpful and available." And he's not the only one. Dickson's determination to actively diversify the ADR sector caught the attention of her former colleagues, too. "A lot of times, it just makes it more comfortable if you are talking to somebody who looks like you, who may have similar life experiences. I think that that's not something that other panels really focus on," said Julie Jun, partner of Hawkins Parnell & Young in Atlanta. "Marcie and Alterity, in particular, they're really wanting to focus on that."

Julie Jun, partner, Hawkins Parnell & Young. (Courtesy photo)

Having worked alongside Dickson at Miles Mediation and Arbitration, Jun took the opportunity to affect change as one of 15 Alterity founding members. "I wanted to go with Alterity because I really believe in what they're trying to achieve, which is making it more accessible and user-friendly to everyone by focusing on having neutrals who are women and who are minorities," Jun said. "I've been a practicing attorney for over 15 years. ... Being a woman, being Asian, I can tell you, you don't come across neutrals—and I'm talking nationwide—who aren't white males." Dickson said she anticipated the firm's creation might receive some pushback. But she felt its dedication to diversity extended beyond racial composition to encompass everything from gender to professional experience. "I imagine there will be people that say, 'Oh, you're being discriminatory,' because you're only catering to diverse neutrals,'" she said. "That's definitely not the case."

Meet Alterity's Founding Members