Mushegh Manukyan

Senior Fellow – Armenia

Mushegh Manukyan is an international attorney, mediation pioneer, and arbitration counsel. He has extensive experience in mediation and arbitration, as well as representing foreign companies in various complex matters.

About Mushegh Manukyan

Mushegh Manukyan is an international attorney, mediation pioneer, and arbitration counsel. He has extensive experience in mediation and arbitration, as well as representing foreign companies in various complex matters. Currently, Mr. Manukyan manages the Mediation Unit of the Ombudsman Office for United Nations Funds and Programmes. In his personal capacity, he also serves as General Counsel-International for Enveritas, providing pro-bono legal advice to this Connecticut-based nonprofit that aims at ending poverty in the coffee industry. Previously, he practiced international dispute resolution at Three Crowns LLP (Washington, D.C. office), a world-leading international arbitration law firm, and worked at two multinational companies as in-house counsel managing legal work for over 15 subsidiaries in the EMEA and APAC regions. He also served as a mediator with the D.C. Court of Appeals and the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman. Mr. Manukyan’s current efforts focus on encouraging mediation globally. 

Mr. Manukyan played an instrumental role in the establishment of Armenia’s mediation system and is the author of Armenia’s first mediation laws. He founded the first private mediation and arbitration center in Armenia, which he developed from a “one-man” firm to a fully operating ADR center with more than 13 local neutrals, case management functions, and a network of international mediators from over 20 countries. He has mediated numerous cases in Armenia, Massachusetts courts, and the D.C. Court of Appeals, and established the first court-annexed mediation programs in Armenia. 

Litigation Practice

Mr. Manukyan’s litigation and arbitration practice focuses on the following areas:

  • Commercial contracts, particularly with an international element
  • Intellectual property and technology disputes
  • Investment disputes with States, primarily arising under bilateral investment treaties
  • Corporate disputes, including M&A and Joint Venture disputes
  • Workplace disputes

Mediation Practice

Mr. Manukyan began mediating in 2007, following completion of two international ADR training programs in Italy. He has since mediated over 100 cases in Armenia and the United States, some of which included multiple parties and involved millions of dollars. His diverse mediation experience includes international commercial contracts, insurance claims, real estate, and family disputes. He was the first court-annexed mediator in Armenia and began the mediation of cases referred by judges in advance of the enactment of mediation laws. Currently, at the United Nations, Mr. Manukyan mediates workplace disputes almost every single day, and from every part of the world.  

ADR Achievements and Training

ADR Achievements

• Founded and managed the first private ADR center in Armenia, ADR Partners
• Drafted Armenia’s first mediation laws
• Established first ADR course at an Armenian University and established mediation and arbitration clinics at two leading universities
• Trained over 500 ADR lawyers and mediators, including over 30 certified Armenian mediators permitted to mediate court-referred cases
• Trained hundreds of Armenian judges and lawyers on negotiation, mediation, and arbitration
• Established Armenia’s first court-annexed mediation programs, demonstrating the efficiency of mediation in Armenian courts

ADR Training

  • Harvard Law School, LL.M. degree; Mediator at the Harvard Mediation Program; Founder of the Harvard Arbitration Discussion Series; Author of “16 Minutes of ADR” (2015-2016)
  • University of California Hastings College of The Law, San Francisco, CA, “Envisioning, Designing and Implementing Court ADR: A Practical & Theoretical Program” (June 2013)
  • Weinstein JAMs International Fellow (2011)
  • Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, “Mediation & Other Methods To Foster Democratic Dialogue” (June 2010)
  • International Bar Association / The University of Law (UK) (distance learning), “International Practice Diploma Program in International Arbitration” (July – December 2010)
  • Sapienza University of Rome & Hamline University School of Law, Rome, Italy, International Post-Graduate Course, “Making and Saving Deals” (May – June 2007)
  • International Training Center of The International Labor Organization (UN/ILO), Turin, Italy, International Trade Law Post-Graduate Course (March – June 2006)

ADR Teaching and Mentoring

  • Substitute Lecturer, Washington, D.C. American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. (since 2017)
    Teaches settlement of international disputes (substituting for Luke Sobota, Three Crowns partner)
  • ADR Partners, Yerevan, Armenia (since May 2012)
    Trained and mentored hundreds of lawyers, judges, and law students
  • Lecturer in law, American University of Armenia (AUA), Yerevan, Armenia (April 2012 – August 2015)
    Conducted lectures on international business transactions and alternative dispute resolution; Founded and managed AUA Mediation and Arbitration Clinic
  • Lecturer in law, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU), Yerevan, Armenia
    (February 2010 – May 2013)
  • Conducted lectures and seminars on international private law and alternative dispute resolution; Founded and managed RAU Mediation and Arbitration Clinic
  • Works with the Labor Rights Defender Office, Yerevan, Armenia (since 2007); served as a mediator in employment disputes and organized the first international mediation conference

Publications and Education

Publications

Mr. Manukyan has published over 40 articles and two monographs on various topics of private international law and alternative dispute resolution in Russia, Italy and the United States, including an article in an ABA-published book Stories Mediators Tell – World Edition (2017) presenting mediation stories from leading international mediators.

Educational Qualifications

  • BA in Law, Yerevan State University (2003)
  • MA in International Law, Yerevan State University (2005)
  • Ph.D. in Private International Law, Russian State Social University in Moscow (2009), where he taught private international law for two years.
  • LL.M. from Harvard Law School (2016), where he founded the Harvard Arbitration Discussion Series and launched an interview project “16 Minutes of ADR” with leading arbitration and mediation practitioners.
  • Attended more than 15 international courses on international law and ADR in various countries
  • Qualified in New York, Washington, D.C. (Special Legal Consultant) and Armenia

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