Some disputes have to end. The relationship doesn’t.
Alexander Resolution Services provides civil mediation for businesses, owners, and neighbors across the seven-county Twin Cities metro. John J. Alexander is a qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the General Rules of Practice.
Court-referred and privately arranged matters.
Sessions by video or at a location convenient to the parties.
When mediation makes sense
A court decides who is right. In mediation, the people involved decide what happens next. That matters most when they will keep working, owning, or living near each other afterward.
- Business and contract disputes
- Disagreements over agreements, payment, performance, and vendor or customer relationships.
- Acquisitions, licensing, and asset sales
- Post-closing disagreements over purchase price adjustments, earn-outs, representations and warranties, and transition terms, and disputes over license scope, royalties, and performance.
- Owners, partners, and shareholders
- Conflicts among co-founders, partners, family-business owners, and investors about roles, money, or direction.
- Startups and their investors
- Disputes over financing terms, ownership, and expectations between founders and the people who funded them.
- Property, leases, and construction
- Commercial and residential lease disputes, contractor and homeowner disagreements, and boundary questions.
- Workplace and professional relationships
- Civil disputes between employers, employees, contractors, and colleagues.
- Neighbors, associations, and community groups
- Conflicts within homeowner associations, nonprofits, and neighborhoods.
How I work
The decisions belong to the parties.
I mediate as a neutral. I do not advise either side, decide who is right, or push toward a number. The agreement, if there is one, is the parties’ own.
My training is in transformative mediation, which helps each person think clearly about their own situation and hear the other person’s. I pair that with a negotiator’s practical habits: sorting out the issues, testing options, and writing down terms that can be carried out. Depending on what the parties want, a session can lean toward open conversation or toward structured problem-solving.
I keep what is said in mediation confidential, within the limits set by Rule 114 and Minnesota law. Before accepting a matter I check for conflicts, and I disclose any prior or current relationship with a party, attorney, or company involved. My background advising emerging companies and founding an angel investment network makes that check especially important to me.
What to expect
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A first conversation
Call or send the form. We talk through the dispute in general terms, who is involved, and whether mediation fits. I run a conflict check before going further.
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A written agreement
Everyone signs an agreement to mediate that covers fees, confidentiality, and ground rules before the first session.
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The session
Sessions are held by video or in person. Parties may attend with or without an attorney.
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Terms in writing
If the parties reach agreement, we put the terms in writing. If not, the parties keep their options and can continue with the case.
For attorneys and courts
I accept court-appointed matters and cases where the parties select me. Counsel are welcome in the room, and I am glad to confer beforehand on the issues, the participants, and logistics. I do not give legal advice to any party.
I am listed on the State Court Administrator’s roster of qualified neutrals for civil mediation.
Fees
Fee information is available on request and is confirmed in the written agreement before mediation begins.
John J. Alexander
I have spent more than forty years in negotiations where the stakes were real and the relationships mattered afterward: acquisitions and divestitures at W. R. Grace, Baxter, and St. Jude Medical; turning around and leading growth companies; raising capital; and serving on boards.
Since 1996 I have led Business Development Advisors, working with the executives, boards, and investors of small and emerging companies. I have seen mediation, arbitration, and litigation from the inside, and I understand what each one can and cannot do. I now bring that experience to mediation, where both sides can leave comfortable with the result.
- Qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the General Rules of Practice, civil mediation.
- Business Development Advisors, Inc. President and founder since 1996, advising and serving as interim executive for small and emerging companies.
- Twin Cities Angels Funds. Founder and chairman since 2006.
- Earlier roles: Vice President of Corporate Development, St. Jude Medical; Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning, Baxter Diagnostics; Senior Associate, W. R. Grace.
- Public service: Minnesota Science & Technology Advisory Council, Governor’s appointee, 2010–2014.
- Education: MBA, Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia. B.S. Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University.
Start a conversation
A call is the fastest way to find out whether mediation fits. Leave a message if I do not pick up.
- Service area
- Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka, Washington, Scott, and Carver counties, Minnesota