Professional Bio
VERLYN FRANCIS is an experienced in-person and virtual arbitrator, mediator, and dispute prevention and relationship manager in Corporate/Commercial, Civil, Estates, and Intercultural disputes.
She is the Principal Consultant, and the Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist at Isiko (ē/sē/kō) Dispute Resolution Consultants Inc. Her consulting practice also includes advising governments, corporations and institutions on governance and risk management.
In addition to her international independent arbitration and mediation work, Verlyn is a Part 146 roster member. She is also a roster arbitrator and mediator on the Global and General Commercial panels of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) Panels of Distinguished Neutrals, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the ADR Section of the National Bar Association (NBA-ADR). She is an adjudicator with the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission (OPAAC), and Toronto Licensing Tribunal.
Prior to devoting her practice exclusively to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), she practised law for over 20 years.
Ms. Francis is a professor in ADR post-graduate program at Humber Polytechnic. She lectured on Advocacy and ADR at Lincoln Alexander School of Law – Toronto Metropolitan University. She was an ADR professor at Centennial College, Toronto, Canada; visiting professor of Advanced Negotiation in the Master of International Business program at La Salle EMCI in Lyon, France; and guest lecturer in the LL.M. Dispute Resolution Program at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Verlyn publishes and presents on Ethics in ADR, the Impact of Culture on Conflict, Diversity and Inclusion in ADR, Dispute Prevention, and Process Design.
Verlyn holds J.D. and LL.M. (ADR) degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Canada.
