John L. Woods Jr., Esq.
Founder & Principal
International perspective.
Experience across borders.
of International Distinction
of Arbitrators
Experience With Purpose
Arbitration · Mediation · Fact-Finding · Ombuds
John L. Woods Jr. is the Founder and Principal of Woods Global Dispute Resolution, a global transactions and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) firm. His international law and ADR practice includes arbitration, conciliation, mediation, fact-finding, and ombuds services.
His work spans transportation, construction, professional sports, workplace matters, commercial transactions, securities and investment, real estate, and education.
John has developed ombuds programs and served as both a corporate and a college Ombudsman. He has also conducted ADR training and designed ADR systems in North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.
Areas of Practice
Panels & Appointments
Experience serving domestic and international institutions across the public and private sectors.
John has served and/or currently serves as a panel arbitrator, conciliator, and/or mediator for organizations including:
- World Bank — ICSID
- U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority — Foreign Service Disputes Impasse Panel
- Major League Baseball
- United Nations (UN)
- United Airlines
- Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA)
- Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce
- American Arbitration Association (AAA)
- U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
- U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- New York City Department of Education — United Federation of Teachers
- City of Baltimore Civil Service Commission
Academic Leadership
John is the Co-Director of the ADR Program and an ADR Law Professor at Howard University School of Law. He is also an Adjunct International Arbitration Professor at the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.
In 2024, John received a Fulbright Scholars Award for the Garvey-Nkrumah Development Incubator, a cross-cultural development program that he founded and serves as project director.
The initiative integrates ADR into capacity building and development efforts in Africa and the Caribbean. It is coordinated with a consortium of U.S., Caribbean, and African colleges and universities, as well as international governmental organizations.
Global Fact-Finding
John facilitates fact-finding missions primarily in human rights and international trade and economic development.
He has led or participated in missions to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Western Sahara, Algeria, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Ghana, and Rwanda.
John created the Integrated Stakeholder Model for Human Rights Investigations, which has served as the guiding methodology for various human rights fact-finding missions.
Leadership & Distinction
John is Chairman of AFCA Development Group, a nongovernmental international development organization serving Africa and the Caribbean. He also serves as a Commissioner (Adjudicator) for the DC Real Property Tax Appeals Commission and is a Member of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA).
His prior leadership roles include Chief Mediator and Director of Dispute Resolution Programs for the U.S. Federal Government, and Chairman of the National Bar Association’s International Partnerships Committee.
In 2019, John received the National Bar Association’s Ronald Harmon Brown Award of International Distinction.
Education
Juris Doctorate Degree
Howard University School of Law
Master’s Degree
New York University
Bachelor’s Degree
State University of New York at Albany
Connect With Woods GDR
Discuss dispute resolution services, training, or professional inquiries.