Mark your calendars for the following Committee meetings and upcoming events! 

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

ADR in the Courts Committee  
October 3, 2018
November 7, 2018
December 5, 2018
Every first Wednesday of the Month, with exception to July which is a Holiday.

Arbitration Committee  
September 25, 2018

Diversity Committee 
September 13, 2018

Ethics Committee
September 26, 2018

Executive Committee 
October 22, 2018
November 14, 2018
December 12, 2018

Mediation Committee
September 17, 2018
October 15, 2018
November 19, 2018
December 10, 2018
January 14th, 2019
February 11, 2019
March 11, 2019
April 8, 2019
May 13, 2019
June 10, 2019

Negotiation Committee
October 17, 2018

To RSVP to any of these Committee meetings, please contact Kristina Gagnon.   

WEBINARS 

November 29, 2017 - When Arbitration Goes to New York Courts -- Recording is posted in communities under "quick links" on the home page.
December 12, 2017 - Arbitration at Work -- Recording is posted in communities under "quick links" on the home page

SAVE THE DATE

October 22, 2018: Fall Meeting
October 29, 2018: Mediation Advocacy

Alternative Dispute Resolution in Personal Injury & Civil Litigation CLE Program

Program Description:  More and more personal injury disputes are being resolved through mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).  Learn how insurance companies and claims adjusters approach mediation in personal injury matters and explore the ethical issues related to the increased use of ADR in civil litigation.  Expert practitioners will demonstrate the practical applications of ADR and examine how a mediator or arbitrator handles a personal injury dispute.  Don’t miss this opportunity to develop new skills in this developing area of law.  

Who Should Attend this Program: Personal injury attorneys; civil litigators; attorneys interested in expanding their practice to include ADR services.

Wednesday, October 3rd |  Melville Marriott | Long Island
Thursday, October 4th | AMA Executive Conference Center | NYC  

7.0 MCLE Credits: 6.0 Skills; 1.0 Ethics

Sponsored by the Dispute Resolution Section, the Torts, Insurance, and Compensation Law Section, and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education of the New York State Bar Association.

NYSBA Member: $175 | Non-Member: $275
Section Member: $150

Program brochure coming soon!

Agenda Topics

• Mediation in Personal Injury Matters -The Mediator's Perspective
• Practical Applications of Alternative Dispute Resolutions
• Mediation from The Insurance Company/Claim Adjuster's Perspective
• Summary Jury Trials
• Arbitration and Arbitration Agreements in Civil Litigation
• Ethical Issues related to Alternative Dispute Resolution

Long Island Program Faculty

Susan Hernandez
Robert Glick | Brand Glick Brand, P.C.
Andrew Isakoff
Richard Sands | Law Offices of Richard M. Sands, P.C.
Hon. Daniel Palmieri (Ret.) | Justice of the Supreme Court, Nassau 

NYC Program Faculty

Sam Rosmarin | Sam Rosmarin, PLLC
Robert Glick | Brand Glick Brand, P.C.
Andrew Isakoff
Hon. Larry S. Schachner (Ret.) | Justice of the Supreme Court, Bronx 

Newly Admitted Attorneys: To receive skills credit, newly admitted attorneys must take accredited transitional CLE courses in traditional live classroom settings that have been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys.  For more information about the CLE Rules, please go to www.nycourts.gov/Attorneys/CLE.  

Out of State Accreditation: This program has also been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California, the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board and the Board of Continuing Legal Education of the State of New Jersey.  If you require MCLE credit in other states, we can provide you a Uniform MCLE Form. 

Partial Credit for Program Segments Not Allowed: Under the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board Regulations and Guidelines, attendees at CLE programs cannot get MCLE credit for a program segment (typically, a lecture or panel, of which there are usually several in a program) unless they are present for the entire segment. Those who arrive late, depart early, or are absent for any portion of the program WILL NOT receive credit for that program segment.

Fall Meeting: Refining Skills for a Changing ADR Landscape | October 22, 2018 

New York Law School | 185 West Broadway | New York, NY 

DRS Section Member: $100*/$150 | NYSBA Member: $200*/$250 | Non-Member: $250*/$300 | Newly Admitted Attorney: $75 | NYSBA Member Law Student: $50 | Non-Member First Time Attendee: $200*/$250
Not a member of the Dispute Resolution Section? Dues are only $35 per year with NYSBA membership. Join today to save on this program! (Join online or call the Member Resource Center at 1-800-582-2452, M-F, 8AM-5PM) 
*early registration fee if you register before October 8, 2018.

This program provides up to 6.5 MCLE credit hours (3.5 in skills, 1.5 in professional practice and 1.5 in ethics), this program is transitional and does qualify for newly admitted attorneys.

REGISTER NOW 

View Program Brochure

Refining Skills for a Changing ADR Landscape Agenda

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Executive Committee Meeting
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Resumé Revamping Table (representatives from provider organizations)
8:45 AM – 10:00 AM Registration
10:00 AM – 10:10 AM Welcoming Remarks by DRS Chair Deborah Masucci

10:10 AM – 11:25 AM – Plenary 1
A Roundtable on Mediation Impasse-Breaking Techniques (1.5 Skills)
Experienced mediators will address how they handle various impasse situations that arise in mediation sessions.  Using hypothetical scenarios, the panelists will share specific impasse-breaking techniques that have worked for them (or that they have considered using) in a facilitated roundtable session that will promote peer learning.

Moderator: Gabrielle Y. Vázquez, Esq.,McGrail & Bensinger LLP

Panelists: Jennifer Lupo, Esq., Lupo Law PLLC
Charles M. Newman, Esq., Law and Mediation Offices of Charles M. Newman
Ruth D. Raisfeld, Esq., Ruth D. Raisfeld, P.C.
Stephen Sonnenberg, Esq., JAMS

11:25 AM – 11:35 AM – BREAK

11:35 AM – 12:30 PM – Plenary 2
Sharpening our Communication Skills in the Online World: Strategies and Tips for Mediators, Arbitrators, and Advocates (1.0 Skills)
In a world that increasingly incorporates the latest technology into our workspace, ADR practices are also evolving to include increased communications through e-mail, video conferencing, social media platforms, and other means of online communicating.  In many instances, the first time the participants (including the neutral) in a mediation or arbitration actually meet and interact with each other in person is at the session or hearing, but there are many other means of communicating that can be used as part of the process.  Learn how to properly and clearly communicate in this online world – a critical skill set that everyone in the ADR field needs to develop – in a training session, appropriately enough, via videoconferencing.

Moderator: Theodore K. Cheng, Esq., ADR Offices of Theo Cheng LLC

Speaker: David A. Hoffman, Esq., Boston Law Collaborative, LLC

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM – NETWORKING LUNCHEON

1:30 PM – 2:45 PM – Plenary 3
Access to Justice: Opening the Door to Additional Protections in Arbitration (1.5 Professional Practice)
The recent decade has witnessed the growth of interim, provisional, and conservatory relief in arbitration.  Arbitral institutions took the lead, amending their rules also to permit the appointment of emergency arbitrators.  This panel investigates grounds for relief and the process of accessing such relief in both domestic and international arbitration proceedings. 

Moderator: Rekha Rangachari, Esq., New York International Arbitration Center

Panelists: James P. (“J.P.”) Duffy IV, Esq., Baker & McKenzie LLP
Erica B. Garay, Esq., Garay ADR Services
Hon. Faith Hochberg (ret.),  Faith Hochberg ADR

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM – Plenary 4
The Ethics Gameshow! (1.5 Ethics)
Being cognizant of, and complying with, ethics and disciplinary rules are an everyday task for ADR professionals, particularly if you are both a neutral and an attorney.  Team-up with your colleagues to answer various ethics hypotheticals and then compare your answers with those provided by our resident panel of ethics experts to score points.  The winning team gets a prize!

Hosts: Theodore K. Cheng, Esq., ADR Offices of Theo Cheng LLC
Felicia T. Farber, Esq., Farber Resolutions LLC

Experts Panel: Hon. Carol E. Heckman (ret.), Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP
Nicole Hyland, Esq., Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Lewis Tesser, Esq., Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP


4:00 PM – 4:15 PM – BREAK

4:15 PM – 5:15 PM – Plenary 5
Securing the Decision: A Primer on Arbitral Award Writing (1 Skills)
This panel explores best practices to safeguard an arbitral award (interim, partial final, final) against future court proceedings for enforcement, set-aside and vacatur.  Diversity of perspective is a focal point, with voices from arbitral institutions, counsel, and arbitrator.

Moderator: Kabir Duggal, Esq., Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Panelists: Christian P. Alberti, Esq., International Centre for Dispute Resolution
Stephanie Cohen, Esq., Independent Arbitrator
Kiera S. Gans, Esq., DLA Piper
Richard L. Mattiaccio, Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLP

5:15 PM – 6:30 PM – Networking Reception / Resumé Revamping Table 

Questions? Contact Kristina Gagnon.

Mediation Choices for Effective Representation and Advocacy
Sponsored by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, the Corporate Counsel Section, and by the Dispute Resolution Section.

Monday, October 29, 2018
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Program with Reception to Follow

New York Law School
185 W. Broadway
New York, NY 10013

8.0 MCLE Credits: 1.0 in Ethics, 7.0 in Skills

REGISTER NOW

NYSBA Member: $225 | Non-Member: $325
Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Member: $150
Corporate Counsel Section Member: $150
Dispute Resolution Section Member: $150
New York Law School Student: Free (Contact the NYSBA Member Resource Center to Register at 800-582-2452)

Registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and post-program reception.

Click here to view the program agenda.

This program was designed for in-house and outside counsel to learn how to optimize results from mediation. The panelists are experienced mediation advocates and mediators who will add tools to your mediator's toolkit.

8.0 MCLE Credits: 1.0 in Ethics, 7.0 in Skills

Newly Admitted Attorneys: To receive skills credit, newly admitted attorneys must take accredited transitional CLE courses in traditional live classroom settings that have been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys.  For more information about the CLE Rules, please go to www.nycourts.gov/Attorneys/CLE.

Out of State Accreditation: This program has also been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California, the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board and the Board of Continuing Legal Education of the State of New Jersey.  If you require MCLE credit in other states, we can provide you a Uniform MCLE Form.

Partial Credit for Program Segments Not Allowed: Under the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board Regulations and Guidelines, attendees at CLE programs cannot get MCLE credit for a program segment (typically, a lecture or panel, of which there are usually several in a program) unless they are present for the entire segment. Those who arrive late, depart early, or are absent for any portion of the segment WILL NOT receive credit for that program segment.

To register for this program please click on the link below or contact the NYSBA Member Resource Center at 800-582-2452 or mrc@nysba.org.

Fordham International Arbitration and Mediation Conference

Friday, November 2, 2018 - Fordham Law School in New York City
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.  

This year’s Fordham International Arbitration and Mediation Conference will take place at Fordham Law School in New York City on November 2, 2018.  The program promises to be of great interest with a keynote by Hilary Heilbron QC on The Impact of Cultural and National Differences on Recognised Norms in International Arbitration and a discussion of several new developments including the impact on international arbitration of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the ICCA-SIL web based damages tool, and the recently approved Convention on the Enforcement of Mediated Settlement Agreements. 

To register and for more information, visit Law.fordham.edu/ciam2018. 
As a co-sponsor of this annual conference, Dispute Resolution Section members are entitled to a 50% discount, for a registration rate of just $87.50.

Colleagues: 

The ADR in the Courts committee met this morning.  Among other things, we took up the DRS’ response to the request for comment dated June 22, 2018 received from the Administrative Board of the Courts regarding a proposed amendment to R. 3 of the Rules of the Commercial Division regarding the mediator selection.     

After consideration of the comments received in response to the post last week by on the DRS webpage, we attach the draft response on behalf of the Section.  Should you have further comments, we ask you to deliver them to us via email by Wednesday July 25^th to sbennett@parkjensen.com and jlupo@lupolaw.com. 

Also, remember that the next meeting of ADR in the Courts will be Wednesday September 5^th at 8:30 AM at Davis Polk.  A meeting notice and dial in information will be sent via email in mid-August.  

Thank you, 

Jennifer Lupo and Steve Bennett
Co-Chairs, ADR in the Courts committee

Attachments:
Request for Public Comment on Proposed Amendment of Rule 3 of the Rules of  the Commercial Division 
Letter to John W. McConnell from NYSBA DRS

This past Friday and Saturday (May 18-19,2018), the NYSBA’s Dispute Resolution Section held a training program focused on preparing advocates for representing clients in mediation and arbitration. This was the first program of its kind and was designed to be the first step in approving attending participants to represent clients through the Dispute Resolution Section’s newly-formed ADR pro bono clinic. The program was organized and co-chaired by Alexander Bachuwa (Bachuwa Law PLLC), Randall Tesser (Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP), and Ross J. Kartez (Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.). Thank you to St. John’s University and the Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution for providing the space and co-sponsoring the event. 

The program was a huge success. The event was overbooked and the organizers scrambled to find a larger room to house the audience – the enthusiastic crowd made for a fun and engaging program. 

Day one was all about mediation. Randall Tesser led the mediation program that included industry leaders Simeon Baum (Resolve Mediation Services, Inc.), Lew Tesser (Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP), Prof. Elayne Greenberg (St. John’s University School of Law), and Robyn Weinstein (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York), who trained the attendees on how to effectively reach their adversaries without conceding their client’s interests. The presenters went through the full process, including voluntary vs. mandatory mediation, confidentiality, choosing a mediator, mediation philosophy, drafting a mediation statement, opening statements, communicating with the other side and the mediator, caucuses, joint sessions,  reaching agreements, follow-up efforts, and much more. There were plenty of exercises that kept the attendees on their toes, and everyone seemed to learn a lot about the process while having fun too. 

Day two was all about arbitration. Alex Bachuwa led the arbitration program, starting with the arbitration provision and moving all the way through post-award issues. Attendees received a comprehensive understanding of arbitration. The faculty included experienced arbitrators and advocates Alex Bachuwa, Ross J. Kartez, Charlie Moxley (MoxleyADR LLC), M. Salman Ravala (Criscione Ravala, LLP), David J. Abeshouse (Law Office of David J. Abeshouse), and Erica Garay (Garay ADR Services). The arbitration training included reviewing the arbitration clause, reviewing the provider’s rules, ascertaining arbitrability, selecting the arbitrator, preparing for the initial pre-hearing conference, streamlining discovery, preparing and submitting pre-hearing materials, presenting the case effectively, and issuing the award. The presenters made an effort to create a theme throughout the day that arbitration is a creature of contract, and that advocates must understand the flexible and streamlined nature of the process. The audience participated in various exercises that allowed them to utilize many of the tools learned throughout the day. 

The program was capped off with a networking cocktail reception giving the attendees a chance to relax and reflect on their experience. 

The organizers enjoyed the program and look forward to planning an encore next year. 

Click here to view photos from the program. 

WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW VOICES: A CALL FOR SPEAKERS, PANELISTS AND WRITERS

The Dispute Resolution Section is looking for speakers, panelists, and writers to participate and contribute to its meetings and publications. Please consider volunteering to speak, serve on a panel, write or otherwise contribute to one of our upcoming events or publications. We welcome new perspectives and are committed to presenting panels that are DIVERSE in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability and religion.

If you are interested in participating or have any recommendations for future programs, please click here to fill out the form. Please email the filled out form to Kristina Gagnon. 

To learn more about the Dispute Resolution Section, please contact Kristina Gagnon. 

The Litigative DNA: The Underutilization of Mediation in NY

Recorded: May 9, 2018
Total Credits: 8.0 (7.0 Professional Practice; Ethics 1.0)

PURCHASE TODAY!

Member: $225 | Non-Member: $325.00

This joint program of the Commercial and Federal Litigation, Corporate Counsel, and Dispute Resolution Sections will explore the contemporary role of mediation in New York and the potential expansion of that role along the lines of initiatives that have taken place in other jurisdictions.

The program will also address the substantial need for additional mediators and trained mediation counsel if the use of mediation is substantially increased in the courts in New York.

Speakers will include representatives of court systems from New York (Federal and State) and other jurisdictions to examine what happens when court systems substantially increase the number and types of cases that are sent to mediation.  Speakers will also include mediators, party representatives, and representatives of mediation providers, including the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, CPR, and FINRA.

Leading judges and Bar leaders will also speak at the conference to discuss the possible increase in the use of mediation in New York and how that might be caused to happen.

Speakers include: 
John. D. Feerick | Charles J. Moxley, Jr. | Jeffrey T. Zaino | Simeon H. Baum | Krista Gottlieb | Chris Stern Hyman | Deborah Masucci | Paul D. Sarkozi | David C. Singer | Steven C. Bennett | Helen E. Freedman |  Tracey B. Frisch | Noah J. Hanft | Chrystal Loyer | William K. Slate II | Adam J. Halper | Gary P. Shaffer | Elizabeth Shampnoi | Stephen P. Younger | Prof. Jacqueline Nolan-Haley | Stephen A. Marshall | Lisa Courtney | Barry Radlin | Robyn Weinstein | Kathleen Scanlon | Gail Killefer | Susan C. Marvin | Hon. Lawrence K. Marks | Hon. George B. Daniels | Hon. William M. Skretny | Sharon Stern Gerstman | Claire P. Gutekunst | John S. Kiernan