Mediation as Organized Communication. Member Spotlight: Elena Andary

The day Elena officially became a lawyer, she sat down with MBBI to reflect on her journey into law, mediation, and conflict resolution. Fresh from taking le serment de l’avocat, the lawyer’s oath, Elena spoke about the experiences, cultures, and ideas that have shaped her approach to resolving conflict and her vision for a career in the service of others.

Born into a Lebanese family in France, Elena grew up deeply passionate about the notion of service, moving through phases of intense curiosity about different fields and institutions. At one point, she contacted NASA; later, she developed an almost obsessive fascination with American politics, memorizing passages from the Declaration of Independence and Obama’s speeches and also religiously following election results. The American ideal of opportunity, together with the country’s emphasis on freedom and rights, represented an early window into a political and cultural system different from her own. From there, her interests gradually shifted toward the work of NGOs and associations, and the ways in which civic organizations could turn ideas and values into concrete action and service to others.

That curiosity about different systems continued into her education. At the Sorbonne, Elena pursued a double bachelor’s degree in law and management, studying issues related to the global economy and management before specializing in business law and international dispute resolution.

After becoming a certified mediator, she joined MBBI, looking for opportunities to stay involved and engaged in the mediation community. As a student, she had found people with similar interests, but had not found the same kind of community as a professional. MBBI’s name itself spoke to her. She was drawn to the simplicity of what the organization stood for and to the number of people willing to contribute to it.

Today, Elena works as a legal intern at an American firm in London, where she works on international arbitration and litigation. Her legal training has given her a grounding in both the theoretical and procedural aspects of dispute resolution, while her professional experience continues to raise a question that has long interested her: how can parties find solutions outside of traditional legal processes?

For Elena, mediation offers one answer.

Mediation as Organized Communication

Elena sees mediation as a powerful but underused tool, particularly in disputes that may appear too complex or high-stakes for anything other than a formal legal process. Arbitration has its place, she says, but it is not always the best way for parties to resolve their differences. “For traditional lawyers, mediation is a nontraditional way.”

Part of the challenge, in her view, is how mediation is understood. It is often associated with smaller disputes, such as family law, rather than with the kinds of complicated commercial and international disputes that can involve millions of dollars and significant competing interests.

Thanks to the mediators who trained her, Elena sees mediation as a form of organized communication: creating a space where people can understand what the other party actually wants and why. “Resolving a dispute is always just about learning about others, learning about the interests of others.”

For Elena, this applies regardless of the size of the dispute. Even in a million-dollar disagreement, understanding the interests of the person across the table can go a long way toward finding a path forward – even if it does not ultimately lead to a final solution. The legal issues may be complicated, but the process of reaching an agreement still depends on people communicating with one another.

That focus on understanding also informs Elena’s interest in the role of culture in conflict.

Learning Across Cultures

Elena’s Lebanese-French background has given her experience with two different approaches to institutions, business, and public life. She sees Lebanon’s entrepreneurial spirit as one of its strengths: an ability to adapt and create opportunities in difficult circumstances. France, meanwhile, has given her an appreciation for established institutions and the stability they can provide. For Elena, these differences illustrate how much culture can influence the way people respond to conflict. Understanding those differences can make communication easier, but cultural understanding should not become an excuse for avoiding the substantive issues at stake.

That distinction is important to her work in mediation and peacebuilding. Different conflicts require different approaches, and understanding another person’s perspective is only the beginning. The difficult work is figuring out what to do with that understanding.

A Career in Service

Elena’s path through law and mediation reflects her interest in that work. She is drawn to the space between formal legal processes and the people affected by them, and particularly to questions about how disputes can be resolved in ways that account for more than simply the legal positions of the parties.

Her interests include arbitration, mediation, and the protection of third parties in areas where legal decisions can have consequences well beyond the people formally involved in a dispute.

Her recent swearing-in ceremony marked an important milestone, but not an endpoint. For Elena, becoming a lawyer is less about acquiring a professional title than taking on a way of life centered on helping others. That commitment also shapes how she thinks about conflict resolution more broadly. Not every dispute will end with everyone satisfied. Not every mediation will produce an agreement. But the attempt to understand the people involved and create a path toward communication still has value.

Elena hopes to carry that perspective forward as she continues her legal career across different countries, legal systems, and forms of dispute resolution. 

Article by Aaminah Tabassum, MBBI Writer