Mediator Resume

Withers Bergman LLP - Senior Counsel

Attorney

Senior Counsel, Withers Bergman LLP, 2024-present; Senior Counsel, Nixon Peabody LLP, 2023-2024; Partner, Foley Hoag LLP, 2021 - 2023; Partner/Associate, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, 1985 – 2021; Law Clerk to Hon. Hugh R. Jones Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals, 1982 – 1984.

Over 35 years of experience as a commercial litigator and 25 years as a neutral handling numerous cases both in judicial and arbitration settings. Has handled a wide range of commercial disputes including joint ventures, stock purchase agreements, limited partnership, acquisitions, commercial loans, derivative transactions, real estate, franchise agreements, and stock options. As a seasoned trial lawyer, has tried many cases in federal and state court and before arbitration panels. Also frequently argues appeals, particularly in the appellate courts of New York. Has also served in the following positions: Past President, New York State Bar Association; Past Chair, NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Securities Litigation Committee, ADR Committee, and Task Force on Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms; Vice Chair of the ABA Center for Innovation; Past Chair, ABA International Mediation Committee; Past Chair ABA Task Force on International Trade in Legal Services; Former Counsel, New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination; Board Member, CPR Institute of Dispute Resolution; founding Board Member, New York International Arbitration Center; Member, Chief Judge's Commercial Division Advisory Council; Special Assistant Corporation Counsel in Trial Division of New York City Department of Law; and Special Counsel, investigation of Bess Meyerson.

Served as a mediator in over 40 commercial disputes including: numerous contract disputes, various securities disputes, various business break-up cases; several real estate litigations; and several adversary proceedings in Bankruptcy Court.

Mediated a dispute over liabilities assumed in a corporate takeover. Mediated a series of disputes over bond defaults by a Latin American country. Issues involved have also included: alleged breach of joint venture, partnership and distributor agreements; representations and warranties in acquisition agreements; insurance coverage issues; rights under defaulted bonds; use of customer lists; and recoverability of lost profits.

Philosophy is to serve as a facilitator to a business resolution of disputes, allowing parties to control their own destinies through settlement, as opposed to the uncertainties of the litigation process. The mediator serves as an agent of reality to help the parties better understand their risks and tries to generate options in an effort to break impasse.

Albany Law School (JD, magna cum laude-1982); Harvard University (BA, cum laude-1977)

Admitted to the Bar: New York (1983); U.S. District Court: Southern (1986), Eastern (1986), and Northern (2014) Districts of New York; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (1986); U.S. Tax Court (1989); U.S. Supreme Court (2010)

New York State Bar Association (Past President; Nominating Committee, Chair; Court Operations Committee, Chair; Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Past Chair; Long-Range Planning Task Force, Past Chair; Committee on ADR, Past Chair; Securities Litigation Committee, Past Chair; House of Delegates; Executive Committee); Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference, Past Chair; ABA House of Delegates; ABA International Trade in Legal Services Committee, Past Chair; ABA International Mediation Committee, Past Chair; Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Arbitration, Past Member; Task Force on Civil Courts, Past Secretary); Historical Society of the New York State Courts, Vice Chair and Trustee; Governor's Judicial Screening Committee, First Department; Chief Judge's Commercial Division Advisory Council; Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century; Chief Judge's Advisory Committee on New York State Pro Bono Bar Admission Requirements; United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Mediator; Advisory Board, Financial Markets Regulatory Institute; Board of Directors, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (Past Chair, Executive Advisory Committee); Board of Directors, Fund for Modern Courts; New York International Arbitration Center, Founding Board Member; Advisory Council, Brooklyn Legal Services; Congress of Fellows, Center for International Legal Studies; New York Bar Foundation (Fellow); The American Bar Foundation (Fellow); Albany Law School, Trustee Emeritus; National Alumni Council, Albany Law School, Past President.

"More Reasons to Arbitrate in the Big Apple" NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, November 25, 2013; "Recent Developments in Securities Arbitration" SECURITIES REGULATORY UPDATE, November 16, 1998; "A Mediator Without Expertise May Yield Destructive Results" NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, April 11, 1994; "Structuring ADR Proceedings" NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, September 20, 1993; Note, "Judicial Review of Public Contract Awards in New York" 45 ALBANY LAW REVIEW 1177, 1981, 13 PUBLIC CONTRACT LAW JOURNAL 169, 1982; Editor-in-Chief, ALBANY LAW REVIEW, 1981-82.

New York City

Hourly Rate: $990.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $990.00/hr Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment: Disbursements also charged.

English

United States of America

New York, New York