Mediating M&A disputes: saving relationships, time and costs

Laura Stevens has been the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Cengage Group since 2018. In this role she is responsible for providing legal support for Cengage Group's business operations, corporate governance, compliance and litigation. Laura and her team provide legal advice, contract negotiation support, dispute management and legal operational support for Cengage Group's content licensing and acquisition activities. Under her leadership, the realigned Legal team has tackled longstanding challenges of the publishing industry, which enabled the launch of Cengage Unlimited, the industry's first all-access subscription service, and helped propel the company’s rapid print-to-digital transformation. In addition, Laura founded the Cengage Group Privacy Office to promote industry-leading privacy standards for the responsible use of student data. Playing an essential role at Cengage Group since 2003, she joined Thomson Learning, now Cengage Group, as Publishing Counsel before moving on to the positions of Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property and Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel before her appointment to General Counsel in 2018. Prior to joining Thomson Learning, Laura was an attorney at Brown Raysman in New York City. She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. in Political Science and Art History from the University of Rochester. She is based out of Boston, Massachusetts.

Almost 30 years of practice in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, plus a significant expertise in compliance and commercial fraud related matters. I have been involved in more than 150 arbitrations, under the rules of the most important arbitral institutions. My practice includes commercial, construction and investment. I teach Advocacy in International Arbitration at Bocconi University in Milan and sit in the Board for Compliance in several Fortune500 companies. The book I co-authored on negotiation and mediation techniques remains one of the best sellers in Italy on the topic.