From Courtroom Battles to Creative Solutions: Understanding the Power of Mediation - Jeremy Lack, International dispute prevention, mediator and resolution lawyer

In this episode of The McKay Interview, Michael McKay sits down with Jeremy Lack, a Geneva-based independent lawyer and one of Switzerland’s leading experts in dispute resolution. Trained as a barrister in England and admitted to the bars of New York, Geneva, and England and Wales, Jeremy has built a unique international career at the intersection of law, neuroscience, and cross-cultural conflict resolution.

Jeremy reveals how he pivoted from high-stakes intellectual property litigation to become a pioneer in mediation and appropriate dispute resolution (ADR). Drawing from over 400 mediations worldwide, he explains why classic adversarial legal systems are often ill-equipped to resolve today’s complex disputes—whether in business, families, or international diplomacy.

• What mediation actually is—and why it works when negotiation fails
• The seven factors of effective dispute resolution: cost, time, relationships, process, outcome, confidentiality, and enforceability
• Surprising insights from neuroscience about how conflict changes the human brain
• How shared meals, common ground, and third-party facilitation can rehumanize adversaries—even in high-level conflicts
• Real-world examples from boardrooms, biotech firms, and even state-level diplomacy
• Why Geneva—and Switzerland more broadly—offers one of the most forward-thinking frameworks for managing disputes

Whether you’re a business leader, policymaker, lawyer, or someone simply looking to better understand human conflict, this episode offers powerful tools and eye-opening perspectives.