Publications

The proponents of the new "Grieving Families Act" legislation argue that the bill should consider more than victim’s salary, but also the grief or anguish caused by the loss of life and expand categories of those entitled to recover for the loss of a loved one.

At a recent webinar, a discussion about the future of virtual ADR was front and center. ADR providers had the foresight to act immediately. Within a matter of two to four weeks the “service” side of our profession had tapped into the available technology.

On the day of the mediation, I wore a suit for the first time in ten months. The case was held in NAM’S Westchester office. We utilized a large conference room and kept the door open. In addition, each side was able to utilize their own breakout room. Of course, everyone wore a mask.

There are additional provisions that seem to be particularly useful when defending against tenant loss claims, ones in which the tenant is claiming that either the manager made promises that were broken or the tenant had certain expectations concerning the condition of the facility when they rented their unit.

A year ago, on Tuesday, March 17th while serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County, I, along with all my colleagues, was the recipient of an alarming email – “all Judges are directed to remain at home until further notice.”

Counsel should make sure the arbitrator candidates have sufficient information about the parties, affiliates, party-representatives, known witnesses, entities that are controlling the claim and the arbitration, but who are not “parties,” the subject matter of the arbitration, and any other information relevant to the arbitrators’ consideration on whether to accept an appointment as an arbitrator or umpire.

In our view, providing parties with the ability to seamlessly transition out of and back into the traditional state court system would provide for a robust guarantee of appellate review that stands in stark contrast to the narrow grounds for appellate review of an arbitration award. We also believe that embracing private judging as an alternative method to resolve disputes at the trial court level would allow parties to make informed decisions about which private judge would be best suited to evaluate a given dispute.

In court-annexed mediation, the parties are directed by the court or by court rule to mediation whether they like it or not. Compulsory mediation is not the best way to put the parties in a position to settle, but in many court systems, it is the reality. But guess what? We mediators settle a good percentage of these cases in spite of the compulsory nature of the proceeding.

Jacqueline Silvey, general counsel with NAM discusses the changes she’s seen in alternative dispute resolution over the years, the current state of the industry, and where she sees it going post-pandemic.

Mr. Byrne draws upon his many years of experience as a litigator and neutral and addresses how Mediation should be considered when resolving construction defect disputes as an "alternative route" to expensive and often time consuming litigation.