Joseph Diab

Joe Diab’s work has always been about helping others through difficult challenges, from his earliest job as an Emergency Medical Technician to his current legal and consulting practice. Throughout his legal training he focused on humanitarian international law and his studies led him to an advanced degree in International Law from Duke and specialized training at the International Court in the Hague, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and Harvard’s Program on Negotiations.

Joe’s international work brought him to the legal department of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees where he briefed cases supported by the United Nations in the U.S. Supreme Court and courts of appeal. He also clerked for the Organization of American States, preparing cases presented to the Inter-American Court of Justice.

Keeping business in the Boardroom, not the Courtroom

In his current practice, Joe puts his experience in international law and negotiation to work training and coaching executives and management to resolve conflict and negotiate effectively. He works as a certified mediator in complex commercial cases and international commercial disputes. For over 15 years he has worked as an executive coach for senior leadership in the technology, pharmaceutical, professional services and financial industries. He also teaches negotiation and conflict resolution skills within corporations and in the MBA program of North Carolina State University.

Working Where Private Wealth Meets Public Good…

Both in his practice and his public service work, Joe advises endowments, foundations, and charitable trusts on legal, management, and operational issues in order to maximize the impact their assets have on the causes they choose to promote. He founded and chairs a private foundation established to advance and promote leadership in the Arts and Sciences. The Diab Foundation’s recent grants have enabled educational and outreach programs for the North Carolina Symphony and Museum of Art and have provided resources and programs for local secondary schools in fine arts, sciences, and leadership skills.

Community & Professional

• American Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution.
• North Carolina Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution,
• North Carolina Bar Association, Section on International Law, Past Chair
• Board of Directors, St. Timothy’s School, Raleigh, NC
• Wake County Bar Association

Outside Maynard Nexsen

"When I’m not working, I enjoy being behind the camera. It’s relaxing and creative. Any activity that can force a lawyer to create something without using words is pretty powerful. Photography forces you to slow down and be fully present in order to see something worth capturing. I will take photos of everything. I started with landscapes because they stand still. Then I began taking classes and studying with some professional photographers and that led to portrait and studio work. That’s great when I have the time, but now most of my life revolves around family and my daughter, so there are an awful lot of soccer action shots in my portfolio, and that’s just fine with me.”

• NC State University Jenkins MBA Program, Visiting Lecturer, Negotiation Skills
• NC State University, School of Textiles, Visiting Lecturer, Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Faculty, NC State University Certificate Program on Business Coaching

“Negotiating the Business Deal in China” National Business Institute CLE manuscript, December 7, 2010 for “The Legalities of Doing Business in China.”

“Organizational Systems for Conflict Resolution,” in Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Carolina, A New Civil Procedure, Clare, Roundtree & Manley, Editors, N.C. Bar Foundation & N.C. Dispute Resolution Commission, (2003).
“Understanding U.S. Immigration Law: An Overview of Policy, Practice and Procedure,” North Carolina Bar Association CLE Manuscript, (September, 2001).

“Basics of United States Immigration Law: A Guide for Corporate and In-House Counsel,” Basics of International Law: Practice Tools for North Carolina’s Emerging Global Economy, North Carolina Bar Association CLE Manuscript, (October, 1998).

Note, United States Ratification of the American Convention on Human Rights, Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law, 337 (1992).