Biography
Myrna Barakat Friedman is an independent commercial arbitrator and mediator with over 25 years’ experience leading corporate and transactional matters. She is the President and a Founding Member of the Association of Commercial and Transactional ADR Professionals – ACT-ADR.
Myrna has been appointed as Chair, Sole Arbitrator, Co-Arbitrator and Appellate Arbitrator to cases involving commercial and financial matters, including matters under the AAA, ICC, CPR and FINRA rules. She has served as a neutral on a wide range of commercial disputes dealing with contract interpretation, commercial transactions, mergers/acquisitions and post-M&A matters, strategic business sales, private equity transactions, securities and financial structures, and fundraising. Industry experience includes real estate, construction and infrastructure, cybersecurity, crypto and online exchange platforms, insurance, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare, finance and banking, and professional services.
Before starting her ADR practice, Myrna led the execution of domestic and cross-border business combinations and securities offerings in the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. She brings to her ADR practice a unique mix of legal, corporate and business experience. She has completed transactions globally as a Wall Street M&A and securities lawyer, a lead in-house M&A lawyer for a Fortune 500 Company, a Corporate Development executive and the founder of a boutique strategic growth initiatives advisory company.
Myrna is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a CEDR Accredited Mediator. She is a graduate of McGill University’s Law School, where she earned degrees in both common law and civil law, and McGill University’s School of Management, concentrating in Economics and Finance. She is trilingual- English, French and Arabic, and has a working knowledge of Spanish.
Please refer to BarakatADR.com for more information and Myrna’s publications.