Israela Brill-Cass

Senior Affiliated Faculty
Pronouns: (She/Her/Hers)
Israela Brill-Cass
Email Email israela_brillcass@emerson.edu Link Website

Israela Brill-Cass is a negotiation and conflict communication professional with over 25 years of experience as an attorney, mediator, facilitator, trainer and consultant. In 2015, she launched her company, fixerrr - the 3 r's stand for rethink, respond and resolve - to help individuals, groups and organizations recognize their strengths, assess their options and gain the tools they need to succeed. Brill-Cass has designed, managed and served as a neutral for conflict resolution and workplace communication programs for the Massachusetts Superior Courts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, federal agencies, institutes of higher education and private corporations. She created the first federally funded Agricultural Mediation Program in New England to help local cranberry growers.

Brill-Cass has taught negotiation (including culture and gender in salary negotiation), conflict communication, dispute resolution, and mediation in both the public and private sectors for such clients as Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Tufts Women in Medicine and Science, RISD, MassMutual (Society of GrownUps), MIT, Arabella Advisors, the Mass. Society of CPA's, the American Bar Association, the Mass. Bar Association, the Administrative Office of the Trial Court, the Mass. Legal Recruitment Association and Mass. Continuing Legal Education. In 2017, she became Wesleyan University's first Ombudsperson, serving as a resource for approximately 900 faculty and staff members on their Connecticut campus.

Brill-Cass has been recognized as a New England Super Lawyer, a list published annually by Boston Magazine and Thompson-Reuters of lawyers viewed by their peers as being in the top 5% of the profession, and named one of the Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts, in 2013 and 2016. She has authored and been interviewed as an authority for articles on conflict management, employment, negotiation and mediation issues in publications ranging from the ABA Journal, the Family Mediation Quarterly, and the BBC Capital, and is a contributing author to the books, Mediation: A Practice Guide for Mediators, Lawyers, and Other Professionals (MCLE, Nov. 2013) and Pretrial Litigation Primer: Alternative Dispute Resolution (MCLE, 2009, 2011).

About

Education

B.A., Brandeis University
J.D., Suffolk University

Areas of Expertise

  • Interpersonal Communication

Publications

The Importance of Intake in Mediation

2007

Mediation: A Practice Guide for Mediators, Lawyers, and Other Professionals

2013

Grants

USDA Grant for Establishment of First Agricultural Mediation Award in New England ($100k)

2002

Global & Civic Engagement

Cradles to Crayons Community Champion

2012

Awards & Honors

National Distinguished Client Service Recognition Award (American Arbitration Association)

1997

Managing for Results Initiative Award (Comm. of Mass)

2002

Law Firm Tier 1 Ranking (U.S. News and World Report)

2010

Law Firm Tier 1 Ranking (U.S. News and World Report)

2011

New England Super Lawyer (ADR)

2011

Law Firm Tier 1 Ranking (U.S. News and World Report)

2012

New England Super Lawyer (ADR)

2012

Top Women Attorney in Massachusetts (Boston Magazine - Super Lawyers)

2013

Law Firm Tier 1 Ranking (U.S. News and World Report)

2013

Law Firm Tier 1 Ranking (U.S. News and World Report)

2014

New England Super Lawyer (ADR)

2015

Top Women Attorney in Massachusetts (Boston Magazine - Super Lawyers)

2016

Alan L. Stanzler Award for Excellence in Teaching (Emerson College)

2018