Hon. Elizabeth Glazebrook Watson has successfully mediated and arbitrated hundreds of complex, national and international multi-party, high stakes civil disputes as a full time JAMS panelist.  Prior to her judicial service, Judge Watson acted as General Counsel to Pickens County, Georgia; General Counsel to Pickens Hospital; and General Counsel to Regions Bank (formerly known as Pickens County Bank).  She was also a founding director for a national bank.

Judge Watson served 12 years in the Appalachian Judicial Circuit of North Georgia, four years as Chief Juvenile Court Judge and eight years as Superior Court Judge. Since stepping down from the bench, she has acted both as a single arbitrator and on 3-Judge arbitration panels in a wide variety of cases.  As a mediator, Judge Watson has successfully resolved over 95% of her cases. She is well-known for the meticulous preparation and engaging, dedicated and determined approach she brings to all her cases. 

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Over the past fourteen years, Judge Watson has mediated and arbitrated a wide variety of disputes including but not limited to: legal and medical malpractice; product liability; personal injury; banking; contract; real estate; wills and trusts; county/municipality; zoning; hospital contracts/services/vendors; healthcare; franchise; insurance benefits/coverage/agent-broker disputes; construction; employment; ERISA; Title VII; disability; partnership dissolution; disputes under various states' Securities and Investor Protection Acts, as well as the Fair Credit Reporting Act; disputes involving investment advisory firms; stock option disputes; RIPO/IPO; and divorce, alimony, child support and child support/custody modifications
• Judge Watson's comfortable and effective style of mediation has made her a popular speaker at bar associations, law firms and businesses.  She is widely recognized as an authority on ADR topics and has given numerous presentations on subjects such as how to pick the right mediator, how to be a successful advocate in mediation, and how to avoid the pitfalls that lead to stalemate or failed mediations
• A renowned leader in ADR education, Judge Watson has served on the Faculty at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada; as Trustee of the Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education; and as a consultant to the ADR Steering Committee for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Representative Matters

• Judging
• Mock Trials
• Mooting
• Judge for NITA cases in Exceptional Advocate Training Programs

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
• Member, Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia
• Trustee and Past President of the Georgia Bar Foundation
• Chair, ADR Committee, Council of Superior Court Judges
• Legislative Liaison to Georgia General Assembly, Council of Juvenile Court Judges
• Master, Henry Lumpkin American Inn of Court (University of Georgia Law School)
• Chair, Family Law Section, State Bar of Georgia
• Member, Leadership Georgia, class of 1988
• Member, State Disciplinary Board, State Bar of Georgia

Background and Education

• Arbitrator/Mediator, JAMS
• Judge, Appalachian Judicial Circuit, North Georgia (12 years); Chief Juvenile Court Judge (4 years); and Judge, Superior Court (8 years)
• Private practice that included civil and criminal litigation, employment law, real estate, banking and corporate law, wills and trusts, and domestic relations (11 years)
• Director and organizer of a 50 million-dollar bank, North Georgia; Chair, Audit and Compliance Committee and Member, Investment and Asset Liability Committee, (6 years)
• General Counsel of a bank and a general hospital
• County Attorney, Pickens County, Georgia
• Seaboard Planning Corporation and Capital Funding Corporation, San Francisco
• Language therapist for deaf and brain-damaged children, Davison School, Atlanta
• Speech and hearing therapist, Metro Davidson County, Nashville
• J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1977
• Vocational Rehabilitation Graduate Fellowship in Audiology, Vanderbilt University, 1966-1967
• B.S., Speech Pathology/Psychology, University of Kentucky, 1965