Mary McLain is an International Attorney Mediator and founder of McLain Mediation, with more than 25 years of experience resolving international and domestic commercial disputes. She draws on an early career in complex commercial litigation and has mediated matters involving commercial business, personal injury, insurance, employment, real estate, probate, partnership conflicts, and family business disputes.
In addition to her private practice, she serves on ADR panels for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, multiple California Superior Courts, and the California Mediation Program, and has acted as Judge Pro Tem in numerous matters. Mary earned her LL.M. in Dispute Resolution in the first graduating class of the Straus Institute at Pepperdine University.
A Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators (IAM), Mary also serves on the IAM Board of Directors and is an active member of its DEI Committee. She has taught mediation and negotiation at UC Berkeley School of Law, UC Law San Francisco, and Hult International Business School, and has presented internationally across Europe, the Middle East, and South America. She has also trained more than 700 professionals in mediation, including through INTA, further extending the reach of high‑quality dispute‑resolution education worldwide.
She has been recognized for multiple years by the Lexology Index: Thought Leaders USA and the International Commercial Mediator report (formerly Who’s Who Legal). Mary also serves as a mediator and judge at the ICC International Mediation Competition in Paris and as an assessor at the IBA–VIAC CDRC Competition in Vienna.
Mary serves or has served on multiple community, philanthropic, and professional boards, including the MCBA, Outdoor Art Club, Corstone, Send It, Center for Domestic Peace, International Center for Attitudinal Healing, IAM, and MCWL. She was also inducted into the University of Jamestown Alumni Hall of Fame in recognition of her demonstrated humanitarian and leadership contributions.
