Davis Polk partner and IP Litigation practice head Ashok Ramani was featured on Will Work For Food’s “The New Possibilities Hour,” a webinar series on mediation and dispute resolution. 

In the webinar, titled “Lessons from Taking Bet-The-Company IP Cases to Trial,” Ashok discusses the lessons he’s learned from handling several nine and ten-figure IP trials over his 28-year career, and what mediators can learn from trials to negotiate more effectively.

When asked about the attitude mediators should bring to a mediation, Ashok shared that he has “found the most effective mediators to be the ones that try and set their ego out entirely and then come in with a real mental curiosity to learn more about the clients.” 

Ashok also noted that he finds it effective when mediators ask questions strategic, forward-looking questions, such as, “What [does] the client see as their business challenges in the coming business year…[or] the next two or three years.” While those questions might not necessarily seem to be pertinent, he explained that, “When you have that information…you can often use that to help structure some kind of resolution.” 

When discussing effective closing techniques or pressure strategies, Ashok observed, “I find it productive for mediators to say, listen you’ve got me until X time at the latest and then we’re done, because I think that tends to focus people’s minds a bit more.” He added that it can be particularly effective “when the mediator appears to have dug in enough and has sufficient understanding of where both sides are ideally and what the business terrain is, and not only just between these parties, but in the industry.”

“Lessons From Bet-the-Company IP Trials with Ashok Ramani,” Will Work For Food’s “The New Possibilities Hour” (March 16, 2026)

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