Alva Waller Dial

Alva Waller Dial is Chief Executive Officer of Legal Resolutions Inc. (LRI), specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Alva spent over 20 years as a lawyer in the public sector, working as a trial attorney and later as staff and managing attorney for the Office of the Monitor for Pigford v. Vilsack (D.D.C.), a class action lawsuit involving more than 22,000 African American farmers suing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging race discrimination. Currently she serves as Deputy Ombudsman for the In re Black Farmers discrimination lawsuit against USDA.

Working with claimants, class counsel, advocacy groups and other stakeholders, Alva has gained extensive experience overseeing and coordinating the implementation of consent decrees and compliance measures. In her role as Deputy Ombudsman, Alva serves as a mediator for litigants and makes recommendations to the court on issues related to the implementation of the settlement agreement.

Prior to her work on Pigford v. Vilsack and In re Black Farmers, Alva served as a public defender for the First Judicial District of Minnesota, where she handled a variety of adult criminal matters through trial and represented court–involved youth in delinquency proceedings. She also served as guardian ad litem in child protection matters where she was first appointed to oversee a family court custody case.