Douglas J. Witten

Mediator/Arbitrator

Doug Witten
Doug Witten
Phone

Main:

678-222-0248


Fax:

404-252-3376


Direct:

678-427-9030

Fees
  • View Fees

    Administrative Fee
    $200.00 per party/per day

    Workers’ Compensation Cases
    2 Party Case: $250.00 Per Party Per Hour
    3 Party Case: $225.00 Per Party Per Hour
    4 Party Case: $200.00 Per Party Per Hour

    Non-Workers’ Compensation Cases
    2 Party Case: $300.00 Per Party Per Hour
    3 Party Case: $275.00 Per Party Per Hour
    4 Party Case: $250.00 Per Party Per Hour

    Fees are the same for any additional time spent on document review, research, written findings of fact/law and other outside time, if any, necessary to prepare or make an informed award or evaluation.

    MINIMUM TIME:
    A 3-Hour Minimum will be charged all Cases.

    TRAVEL TIME:
    For travel time charges for mediations & arbitrations held at locations other than at BAY’s offices in Atlanta, please contact BAY.
    Available to travel throughout Georgia and Florida.

    ALL CHARGES WILL BE SHARED EQUALLY AMONG ALL PARTIES, UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED IN WRITING. RATES MAY BE ADJUSTED FOR SPECIAL SITUATIONS. THE FEE IS TO BE AGREED UPON IN ADVANCE.

    OUR CONTRACT FOR SERVICES IS WITH THE ATTORNEY(S). WE EXTEND CREDIT, WITH NO ADVANCE DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT, BASED ON THE ATTORNEY’S CREDIT. THE ATTORNEY, IN TURN, COLLECTS FROM HIS/HER CLIENT. THEREFORE, WE EXPECT PAYMENT FROM THE ATTORNEY(S) REGARDLESS OF CLIENT ACTIVITY. ALL FEES MUST BE PAID IN FULL ON EVERY ARBITRATION PRIOR TO THE AWARD BEING PUBLISHED.

    *** A FINANCE CHARGE OF 1.50% PER MONTH (18% PER YEAR) WILL BE CHARGED ON BALANCES DUE OVER 45 DAYS.

To reserve an appointment online, please click your preferred available date. Our staff will contact you on receipt of your Appointment Request form.

Please note that a requested date is not fully booked until confirmed by our scheduling coordinator, Sam Kinghorn.

Bio

Doug Witten is available to mediate online and to travel for mediations. Please call 678-222-0248 for travel rates and more information.

Doug Witten is a highly experienced attorney and ADR professional. Since 2003, Doug has been a registered neutral with the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution and has mediated over 1,200 cases. He has over 25 years of legal expertise, including nearly 13 years working in increasingly senior roles for the State of Georgia’s workers’ compensation agency with a focus on ADR and administrative law. He has served as primary legal liaison to various departments and governing bodies regarding tactical direction for a wide range of legal matters affecting the state’s rights and responsibilities as well as complex policies and procedures. Doug is extremely effective at building consensus and fostering compromise among competing interests to influence favorable outcomes on diverse legal issues.

Doug has also cultivated an extensive background in health law, featuring early roles in healthcare practice groups at prominent law firms and current affiliations and training with national organizations such as the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) and American Bar Association (Healthcare Committee, Dispute Resolution Section; Task Force on ADR and Conflict Management in Healthcare, Health Law Section).

As a trained and experienced mediator and arbitrator, Doug specializes in serving as a neutral in the areas of Business & Commercial matters, Healthcare/Health Law issues, and Workers’ Compensation cases. Fluent in English and Spanish, Doug has published numerous works and spoken extensively on ADR and healthcare topics.

Areas of Expertise

  • Insurance + Coverage
  • Injuries + Accidents
  • Workers' Compensation
  • Business + Commercial
  • Healthcare

Locations

  • Atlanta
  • Macon

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Spanish

Credentials

ADR Training
Education
Bar Admissions
Employment
Professional Affiliations
  • Member, Health Law Section (Task Force on ADR and Conflict Management in Health Care)
  • Member, ABA Advisory Panel (2011-2014)
  • Member, Business Law Section (Dispute Resolution Committee)
Publications
  • Course Creator/Instructor, Don’t Let Them Rattle You!: The “Fundamental 5” Stoic Keys to Better Everyday Negotiating, launched May 2022 (available on demand at https://thestoicnegotiatoracademy.thinkific.com/).
  • Georgia’s Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act: Spotlighting Dispute Resolution Provisions, Atlanta Bar Association Dispute Resolution Newsletter, Winter 2022.
  • No More Surprises: An Overview of Georgia’s Latest Effort to Resolve Balance Billing Disputes, Georgia Health Law Developments, Winter 2021.
  • Online Dispute Resolution as Healthcare Litigation Tool: Mediation Tips, Lessons Learned, and Looking Ahead, ABA Health eSource Magazine (August 2021).
  • American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, March 2021 (co-editor).
  • Author/Creator/Podcaster, The Stoic Negotiator™ Substack newsletter and community hub, launched November 2020 (available at stoicnegotiator.substack.com).
  • Douglas J. Witten, Mediation Essentials Toolkit: A Practitioner’s Emergency Survival Guide (2021)
  • Video Mediation During the Coronavirus Pandemic: How Online Dispute Resolution WorksNolo, June 2020 (available at https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/video-mediation-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-how-online-dispute-resolution-works.html).
  • Mediation in the Service of OthersRevista ADR Magazine, Foro Internacional de Mediadores Profesionales, Número Especial, April 10, 2020.
  • American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, March 2020 (co-editor).
  • American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Just Resolutions Newsletter, January 2020 (co-editor).
Presentations
  • Panelist, “Overcoming Language Barriers at Mediation,” Atlanta Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section CLE Breakfast, February 5, 2020, Atlanta, GA.
  • Guest, “How to Use Negotiation Jiu Jitsu to Resolve Conflicts & Persuade with Doug Witten Esq.,” Negotiate Anything, May 13, 2019 (podcast interview available at https://www.buzzsprout.com/58026/1132259
  • Panelist, “The One Thing I Know Now That I Wish I Knew as a 1L,” Emory University School of Law, April 9, 2019, Atlanta, GA.
  • Panelist, “Alternative Dispute Resolution,” Emory University School of Law, April 23, 2018, Atlanta, GA.
  • Moderator, “Mediation in Peer Review: A Pearl Hiding in Plain Sight,” AHLA Educational Call, February 14, 2017.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, “Nontraditional Uses of Mediation in Healthcare,” American Bar Association 18th Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference, April 7-9, 2016, New York, NY.
  • Moderator, “Live Appellate Division Arguments,” SBWC Annual Educational Conference, September 1, 2015 & August 26, 2014, Atlanta, GA.
  • Webinar Presenter, “Operation and Structure of the Georgia SBWC’s Appellate Division,” Risk Management Inc., July 19, 2011.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, “Recent Decisions of the Appellate Division,” Workers’ Compensation Law Institute, October 15-17, 2009, St. Simons Island, GA.
  • Introductory Speaker, “ADR in the Workers’ Compensation Arena,” January 29, 2009, Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, “Ancillary Issues in Mediation,” ADR in the Workers’ Compensation Arena, January 31, 2008, Atlanta, GA (invited).
  • Program Co-Chair, Mediation in the Workers’ Compensation Arena,” February 7, 2007, Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, Current Ethical Issues in Mediation,” Mediation in the Workers’ Compensation Arena, February 20, 2004, Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, “HIPAA Security Standards: Transforming the Healthcare Landscape,” at the HIPAA Roundtable, May 2-3, 2001, Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-Presenter, “New Federal Healthcare Information Use and Confidentiality Requirements: 23 Months and Counting,” Southeastern Health Law and Policy Forum, March 30, 2001, Atlanta, GA.
  • Guest Lecturer, “Practicing Health Law,” Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, November 29, 2000, Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-Presenter and Panelist, “HIPAA Security Standards: Transforming the Healthcare Landscape,” at the HIPAA Roundtable, November 15-16, 2000, Atlanta, GA.
  • Presenter, “HIPAA Security Standards,” at the GHA: An Association of Hospitals and Health Systems HIPAA Executive Briefing, November 1, 2000, College Park, GA.