Work as a Neutral

Arbitrator

  • American Arbitration Association Panel Member, Employment & Consumer Arbitrator
  • Union Contract Panel Member, Employment Arbitrator
  • Arbitrator of disputes between Municipal Governments and Police/Firefighter Unions about whether an illness or injury is covered by General Municipal Law 207
  • Hired to decide Non-Compete and other employment disputes

Mediator

  • American Arbitration Association Panel Member, Mediator
  • Federal Court Mediator (certified by United States District Court, Western District of NY)
  • New York State Court Mediator for Civil/Commercial (including Tort) and Surrogate’s Court matters
  • Contract with United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1999-2012)
  • Private Mediation Practice

Discovery Referee

  • Appointed to serve in a complex and highly contested commercial case pending in New York Supreme Court

Special Master

  • Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuits–Appointed by United States District Judges
  • Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit—Appointed by New York State Supreme Court Judge
  • Consumer Protection Class Action Lawsuit–Appointed by United States District Judge

Hearing Officer

  • NY Civil Service Law Section 75 hearings
  • Departmental Disciplinary Hearings–Monroe County Deputy Sheriffs

Court Appointed Referee in Foreclosure Cases & Guardian Ad Litem

  • Various Appointments in New York Supreme & Surrogates Courts

Highlights:

I earned membership on the panel of Employment Arbitrators and Mediators of a well-established (since 1926) and distinguished non-profit provider of dispute resolution services (American Arbitration Association).

I began mediating disputes at the request of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [“EEOC”] in 1999. I received an award from the EEOC in 2007 for being a distinguished mediator.

I was selected to serve on the first panel of mediators for the mandatory program of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York which began in the Fall of 2012. Since that time, and not including mediations done outside the program, I have mediated approaching 250 federal court cases. A significant percentage of these cases were settled which is unusual given that it occurs typically at a very early stage in the litigation.

In my capacity as Special Master in class action lawsuits (wage/hour and consumer cases), I decided factual disputes and made recommendations about the propriety of proposed settlements and attorney fee applications. I also presided at a hearing to determine whether the proposed settlement of a class action was fair.

I received the Alternative Dispute Resolution Award as part of the 2023 Legal Excellence Awards, a program of the Rochester Business Journal and the Western New York Daily Record.