Northeast Georgia Panel of Neutrals

We invite you to examine the backgrounds and qualifications of the members of our panel of neutrals. Most have over twenty years professional experience as trial lawyers, judges or claims professionals, and a wealth of training and experience as mediators and arbitrators.


James B. Hiers Jr. is listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” publication. He has completed both the negotiation and mediation courses at Harvard Law School and with 40 years legal experience he has served as mediator in numerous medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, Workers’ Compensation and labor/employment cases.

James E. Mahar is a leading trial attorney in the 9th District of Georgia. He has performed over 600 mediations; arbitrations and case evaluations in the fields of personal injury, commercial disputes, domestic relations, product liability and toxic torts. He is a named partner in the firm of Hulsey, Oliver & Mahar, LLP.

Dana B. Miles has practiced law for over 27 years and has been the Managing Partner of his firm for over 13 years. His practice has centered around business litigation and his work for local governments, including past representation of DeKalb County and current representation of the cities of Cumming and Dawsonville, GA. Mr. Miles’ areas of expertise include, business and corporate litigation, local government law, zoning and land use, employment law, construction and personal injury.

E. Wycliffe (Wyc) Orr Sr. Wyc Orr has diversified trial and dispute resolution experience. A trial lawyer for 37 years, he has tried a wide variety of cases “on both sides of the v” before juries in 28 Georgia counties from North to South, as well as in Federal court. The breadth and depth of Mr. Orr’s decades-long litigation experience uniquely qualifies him for service as a mediator. His broad-based personal injury litigation experience includes auto and trucking collisions, premises liability, products liability, invasion of privacy, defamation, and medical malpractice. Wyc also has substantial experience in employment cases under both federal and state law.

Patricia A. Siuta is an experienced trial lawyer and nationally prominent mediator, arbitrator, and ADR trainer who has specialized in mediation and arbitration for 11 years. She has experience mediating complex and multi-party cases, and has helped parties resolve cases of all types, including sensitive disputes at the Pentagon. Pat has successfully served as a mediator or arbitrator in cases involving commercial & contractual disputes, construction, domestic, employment, personal injury, professional liability and premises liability. She has handled more than 700 mediations with a settlement rate of approximately 90%.

James G. Stewart in the 1970's and 1980’s worked with two insurance companies and did defense work for a local hospital. He has been practicing law for more than 28 years, representing injured Plaintiffs. He has been a Mediator/Arbitrator for over 21 years and has been with Henning Mediation exclusively since its inception. He has mediated over 2000 cases in the areas of personal injury/wrongful death, insurance law and coverage, medical, nursing home and legal professional liability, labor/employment law, and construction.

To view a list of neutrals by area of expertise or by rate range, please click on the links below: