Hon. Jerome C. Gorski (Ret.)

Hon. Jerome C. Gorski has had a long and distinguished legal career. He joins NAM after having served as a Justice in the Appellate Division of the State of New York, Fourth Dept., since his appointment in August, 2001. Prior to his appointment to the Appellate Division, he served as a Trial Judge in the Eighth Judicial District for over 12 years (January, 1989-August, 2001), and the Civil Trial Terms in New York City in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994 and from September 1996-September 1998. Before his service on the bench, Judge Gorski served as a law clerk for the USDJ John J. Sirica, and to County Court Judge and NYS Supreme Court Justice James L. Kane. When not working in the Court system, Judge Gorski was engaged in private practice which consisted of general legal practice, negligence, product liability litigation, employment rights and collective bargaining/labor relations related work.

For three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016), Judge Gorski was voted a Top Ten Arbitrator in New York State by the New York Law Journal Annual Reader Rankings Survey. In 2016 and 2018, Judge Gorski was named a National Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution Champion, as part of a select group chosen from a nationwide search. While on the bench, Judge Gorski was rated A-Superior by the Erie County Bar Association as a candidate for Supreme Court Justice, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Jurist Award in 1998 and the 2000 Award of Merit from the Erie County Bar Association.

According to the 2009/2010 New York Judge Reviews, his personality and temperament “are worth rave reviews”; practicing attorneys unequivocally complimented his judging skill and his level of knowledge and expertise stating “He’s the best of the best.” As for his settlement skills, “Best judge on settling, good at negotiating.” and “He can settle cases better than anyone.” In a February 1, 2012 article published in the Buffalo News, Judge Gorski is noted for his strong negotiating and settlement skills during his career on the bench.

Now retired from the bench and serving as a full time mediator/arbitrator with NAM, Judge Gorski brings to the ADR arena his broad knowledge of many legal issues, as well as his strong negotiation and settlement skills that he honed as a labor lawyer and trial judge.