PROFILE
- Practicing lawyer for over forty years, with in-depth experience in law firm and business management. Martindale-Hubbell rated “AV” (the highest rating from the premier law directory company) for more than two decades.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution professional, including mediation and arbitration, both as the neutral and as advocate.
- Concentrations in business litigation, family law, dispute resolution, information technology law and business. Experienced in real estate, intellectual property matters, executive contracts and the mediation of a very wide range of small and large disputes of all kinds, involving any number of people.
- Core strengths in interests assessment; issue analysis; formulating positions and arguments; consensus building; developing legal theories based on the relevant facts; and other strategic, tactical and planning abilities.
- Exceptional writing and speaking skills, both professionally and in business, and also in creative writing awards; teaching a law school writing course; and as the editor of the New York City Bar Association’s prestigious STATE LEGISLATION BULLETIN, among others.
EMPLOYMENT
Private practice of law and alternative dispute resolution, New York (1986 to present). Manhattan-based law and mediation practice primarily focused on business disputes and litigation; divorce and family disputes; and information technology issues. Mediation of labor-and-employment, wage-and-hour, harassment, dis- crimination, civil rights, community and many other disputes.
Metaserver, Inc., New Haven (2000–2001). Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Member of the senior management team and general counsel of a business process integration (Internet middleware) software and services company, leveraging technology first conceived at Yale University. (Maintained reduced law practice while employed at Metaserver.)
Fink Weinberger P.C., New York (Associate 1973–1980, Partner 1980–1985). In addition to handling a full case load, administered the litigation department and oversaw the research department and library. Created and implemented systems to track deadlines and obligations and to maintain dockets and files. Developed methods to provide lawyers in each department with timely updates on changes in their areas of expertise. Early adopter and trainer of computerized legal and other research, many years before the World Wide Web.
COURT, ACADEMIC and OTHER POSITIONS
Columbia Law School: Teacher in the Pro Bono Scholars Program’s Clinic for U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediations, Spring 2015 (a new program under which third-year law students are permitted to take the Bar exam before graduation and practice under Law School supervision).
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Member of the first Panel of private neutrals assigned by the Court to mediate in the Civil Appeals Mediation Program.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Member of the Panel of Mediators and of the Panels of Storm Sandy Mediators and Arbitrators.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Member of the Mediator Advisory Committee (2015-2017). One of the drafters of the mediator quality evaluation protocols and forms, and an evaluator in the Court’s quality assessment pilot program. Member of the Panel of Mediators.
New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County. Member of the panel of mediators.
New York State Supreme Court, Kings County. Member of the inaugural panel of mediators for the pilot program of Presumptive Alternative Dispute Resolution for Brooklyn divorce cases.
New York State Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division. Member of the Panel of Neutrals for the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. Mediate cases referred by a Judge in the Court’s specialized parts for large or complex business litigations, or by a Judge presiding over other business cases and cases of other types.
New York State Supreme Court, New York County. Member of the inaugural panel of mediators in the Matrimonial Alternative Dispute Resolution program.
New York City Civil Court, Arbitrator. Act as judge or referee at trials in a broad variety of small claims cases. Mediate cases referred by the Court Clerks.
American Arbitration Association. Member of the Panel of Mediators for Superstorm Sandy insurance mediation program set up by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
New York State Bar Association. Member of the full association’s House of Delegates. Section on Dispute Resolution: Member of the Section’s Executive Committee (ex officio), Mediation Committee and Negotiation Committee. Member of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section; member of the Section’s Arbitration and ADR Committee; and member of the Section’s Committee on Intellectual Property (1991–2002; emphasis on computer and information technology law).
Member of the Section on Family Law. Federal Constitution and Legislation Committee (Chair, 1991–1995; Member, 1978–2008). Special Presidential Task Force on Family Law (Member, 1994–1996).
Association of the Bar of the City of New York (New York City Bar). Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (Chair, 2018–; Member, 2011–2015, 2016–18). Committee on State Legislation (Member, 1975–1978; Secretary 1976–1978; Editor, STATE LEGISLATION BULLETIN, 1976–1978). Committee on Civil Rights (Member, 1978–1981 and 1988–1991). Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction (Member, 1993–1996).
New York Center for Interpersonal Development. Certified mediator for the Staten Island Community Dispute Resolution Center, which provides dispute resolution services under contract with the New York State Office of Court Administration.
American Civil Liberties Union, Communications Media Committee (1972–1978); Free Speech/Association Committee (1978–1996).
Bar Admissions: New York State (1974); United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (1974); United States Supreme Court (1979).
ADDITIONAL AFFILIATIONS and ACTIVITIES
Association for Conflict Resolution — Greater New York Chapter. Member, Board of Directors (2012–2018). Co-Convenor of monthly Roundtable Breakfast series of programs co-sponsored by the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College, about a wide range of conflict and dispute resolution subjects.
New York State Council on Divorce Mediation. Member, Board of Directors (2013–2019). Former Co-Editor of NYSCDM’s quarterly journal and former member of the Publications Committee. Former member of the Education Committee.
Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York. Member. Former member of the Committee on Continuing Education.
Cardozo Law School, Instructor (1980–1981). Taught a legal writing and research seminar. Emphasized the science and art of analyzing underlying facts and documents and a client’s needs in order to identify the important issues; developing the skills to research the applicable law; and fostering the judgment to craft an effective contract or legal brief.
Academic and Continuing Professional Education Instructor and Competition Judge. Serve as facilitator or coach at various continuing legal education programs on mediation, including advanced trainings. Volunteer judge of various law school and graduate school negotiation and dispute resolution competitions, tournaments and examinations. Institutions include Cardozo School of Law, Fordham Law School, St. John’s University School of Law, Hofstra Law School, New York University graduate program, New York State Bar Association, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (the New York City Bar) and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Miscellaneous community service such as board and committee membership for several public school organizations, including policy development for technology and Internet use in schools; president of residential cooperative corporation; youth sports administration; etc.
EDUCATION
New York University School of Law, New York, New York, J.D. Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, B.A. magna cum laude (Government major). Creative writing award.
Numerous alternative dispute resolution trainings, practicum programs and peer sup- port groups under the aegis of The Center for Mediation in Law/The Center for Understanding in Conflict (Jack Himmelstein and Gary Friedman); New York State Unified Court System; New York State Bar Association; New York Center for Interpersonal Development; Center for Mediation and Training; and others. This is in addition to varied continuing legal education courses on areas of law other than dispute resolution.
June 2020
