Ari Sliffman: The 95% Settlement Mediator Who Uses AI, Emotional Intelligence & Torah

Ari Sliffman made history as the first student in Marquette Law School history to graduate with dual certificates in dispute resolution and sports law. His 2011 paper arguing that NFL Super Bowl clean zones violate the First Amendment was published in the Marquette Sports Law Review—and in 2023, an Arizona Superior Court cited his argument when ruling against Phoenix's clean zone ordinance for Super Bowl LVIII. Now he's bringing that same creative thinking to mediation, achieving a 95% settlement rate in Philadelphia as founder of AJS Resolutions. His approach: emotional intelligence meets artificial intelligence. He uses AI to rapidly analyze thousands of pages of documents, freeing up time to focus on the human side—understanding personality types, building trust, and reframing emotionally charged messages. His path to mediation was intentional. He worked both sides of the aisle—plaintiff's attorney representing injury victims, defense attorney representing major auto manufacturers—building well-rounded experience because "attorneys want mediators who understand not only their side, but the other side." He volunteers as Judge Pro Tem in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, using it as a testing ground for new mediation techniques. His most memorable case: his first private mediation. Parties were $300,000+ apart. He started by talking sports and pain treatment—building trust with a 62-year-old union worker who'd been injured and wanted to wait five years for back surgery to protect his pension. They broke down the numbers together, figured out what he actually needed, and settled within $25,000 of that number. "If I hadn't sat down and related to him and talked about things that frankly have nothing to do with this mediation, but really did because I needed to get him to trust me, I don't think we'd get there." He writes a Times of Israel blog applying weekly Torah portions to mediation principles. He went full-time with AJS Resolutions on November 20, 2024—his father's birthday. He's currently completing Harvard's Program on Negotiation mediation course. And he does three networking events per week (coffees, lunches, happy hours) while maintaining an active LinkedIn presence because "the mediation is the easy part—everything else is the stressful part." Modern mediation for modern litigation. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 1:01 - Super Bowl Clean Zones Paper Cited by Arizona Court 2:36 - The Grade on That Paper 3:05 - Building Career on Both Sides Before Becoming Mediator 4:47 - When Neither Party Is Happy: The Reality of Resolution 7:52 - Part Social Worker, Part Psychologist, Part Attorney 9:21 - Judge Pro Tem as Testing Ground 11:49 - How Mediators Get Paid 13:08 - Marketing to Attorneys: 3 Events Per Week 15:34 - Solo Shop: CEO, CMO, CTO, CFO 16:24 - The 95% Settlement Rate 21:21 - First Private Mediation: $300K Apart, Talked Sports & Pain 26:22 - Why Not Continue as Traditional Attorney? 29:23 - Israel Trip, Conflict Resolution Class 31:10 - AJS Resolutions Founded November 20, 2024 31:28 - Rapid Fire: Baltimore Orioles or Philadelphia Eagles? 32:12 - Best Negotiation Tactic from Watching Sports 33:37 - Torah Position Teaching Mediation: Joseph & His Brothers 34:42 - Modern Mediation for Modern Litigation 36:40 - Using AI for Document Analysis CONNECT WITH ARI SLIFFMAN: Website: https://ajsresolutions.com (book directly online) Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arisliffman/ Office: 1515 Market Street, Suite 1200, Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: Available via website Times of Israel Blog: Search "Ari Sliffman Times of Israel" #AriSliffman #Mediation #AlternativeDisputeResolution #ADR #LegalPodcast #PhiladelphiaMediator #ConflictResolution #DisputeResolution #PersonalInjuryMediation #BusinessMediation #AIInLaw #EmotionalIntelligence #Negotiation #LegalInnovation #TrustcastShow