Mediator Resume

Experience-legal practice 40 years; arbitrator, mediator, 35 years, 800 matters Frequent work with European, Asian Nationals. Employment-includes discrimination, noncompete, wrongful termination Construction-multi party disputes-owners, managers contractors, subs Financial-FINRA trained, fraud, supervision, unauthorized trades Commercial-large multi-national, small business, contracts, partnership Real estate-leases, brokerage, coop/condo Understands objectives and world views of the parties, adds to effectiveness as mediator and arbitrator. Arbitrations are efficient, objective. Awards are prompt, clear and fair. Mediates with sensitivity and effectiveness. Understands the parties' positions, viewpoints. Success rate exceeds 90%.

Goldsmith & Fass - Founding Partner

Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator, Expert Witness New York City, and New York State Government Official

Founding Partner, Goldsmith & Fass, 1998 - Present; Partner, Sonnenschein Sherman & Deutsch, 2004 - 2008; Partner, Friedman, Krauss & Zlotolow, 1993 - 2004; Partner/Associate, Phillips Nizer Benjamin Krim & Ballon, 1979 -1993; Special Deputy Attorney General, New York State Department of Law, Bureau of Securities and Public Financing, 1973 - 1979; Assistant District Attorney, Queens County, 1971 - 1973.

Eminently qualified to arbitrate and mediate commercial issues. Forty years' experience as commercial law attorney representing companies and employees, thirty-five years' experience as arbitrator and mediator-90% success rate, arbitrations are efficient and objective, awards are prompt clear and fair Employment: covenants against competition; non-disparagement agreements; non-solicitation agreements; theft of trade secrets; theft of confidential information; wrongful termination; at will employment; status as employee or independent contractor; compensation, severance; gender discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment, vacations, family and medical; company employment manuals, reasonable accommodations Construction: contracts, defects, project manager, contractors, delay damages,change orders Construction, contracts remedies for breach, damages, corporate and partnership break-ups, share and interest valuations, banking requirements, real estate title, ownership, malpractice, personal injury, securities, condominiums coops, construction Consumer issues involving major industrial defendants, credit companies, mass arbitrations Global experience with employment and commercial disputes provides context and depth to analysis and resolution of business and employment disputes. Arbitrations are efficient and objective. Awards are prompt, clear and fair.

Employment - Current heavy involvement in alleged illegal discrimination, including unequal pay and promotions, gender discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment and wrongful termination, drafting and interpretation of employment agreements, validity of non-disparagement and non-disclosure agreements, employee/independent contractor status, termination, severance, vacations, medical and family leaves, bonuses, internal discrimination, harassment complaint procedures, employment at will policy, disciplinary rules, performance reviews and other multiple issues generally contained in employment manuals. Construction - Complex disputes involving owners, managers, subs, trades, materialmen in multi-unit and midsized developments, construction defects, performance guarantees, delay damages, including coops and condominiums. Commercial Disputes - Corporate issues, claims of principals and partners, rights and obligations of lenders promoters, purchasers, tenants, coop and condo owners, purchase and sale of goods and services, share valuation disputes, equipment leasing. Real Estate - Disputes regarding contracts, ownership, financing, commercial leasing, landlord tenant issues, attorney negligence, title, conveyance, closings, construction defects, real estate syndications disputes, including alleged construction and fraud. Federal Securities - Disputes, often multi-party, involving corporate finance, rights of investors, shareholder agreements, claims of fraud, negligence, promotion, unauthorized trading lack of supervision, misconduct and mismanagement and alleged other violations of Federal Law and Regulations. Insurance - Alleged fraud in purchase and sale of life insurance.

Employment - Alleged wrongful termination of employee of a global insurer for inappropriate behavior. Issues were nature of incident, requirements of company employee manual, company investigation, disability, entitlement of Claimant under the Federal Family Medical Leave Act and the New York Paid Family Leave Act, salary, bonuses, vacations, promotions, alleged violation of New York Labor Law for nonpayment of wages, and alleged retaliation by the employer. A second was a dispute between a brokerage company and a thirty-year employee over her retirement package. Other matters have involved non-disclosure, non-compete and anti-disparagement agreements. Construction - Claim by electrical contractor for nonpayment of work on a multi-million- dollar new construction project. Issues involved nature and quality of the work, inexcusable delays in completion, provisions of detailed construction contract, alleged oral communications between the parties regarding scheduling of work, delay damages, change orders, failures to obtain equipment and machinery needed to complete the work, failures of government inspections, and the effect of the Covid virus on prompt completion of work. A second matter involved a multi-party dispute regarding damages to multi-million dollar condominium involving manufacture, delivery, installation of HVAC system. Financial - Claim by guardians of mid-six figure fund alleging negligence of a multi-national financial institution in allowing transfer of the fund to a fraudster. Issues included responsibilities of Claimant and Respondents for the transfer, effect of release forms executed by Claimant, alleged fiduciary duty of Respondent to prevent the transfer, impact of applicable law, including the New York Uniform Commercial Code, FDIC requirements , responsibility of Claimants as Guardians, requirements for release of performance fiduciary bond, obligations of the surety and technological issues involved in the transfer. Multiple other cases involved churning, unauthorized trading, suitability, lack of supervision and fraud.

People trust me. I use of evaluative, facilitative and occasionally transformative styles. Successful mediation accomplishes quick, efficient and economical resolution of disputes without need for litigation or arbitration. It is time and cost efficient. In as little as one day parties may save tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of dollars in attorney fees, disbursements, court costs, arbitrator/litigation fees and related expenses. There is also the risk of losing the case and loss of confidentiality. Mediation also saves the parties' time and allows them opportunities to attend to their businesses and develop new business. The keys to effective mediation are dissemination of useful information regarding the positions of the parties and trust between them and the mediator--a global understanding by each of the parties and the mediator of the positions and concerns of each party. The mediator listens to each party with consistent and unflagging attention and shows an understanding of the thoughts and feelings of each party, as well as their legal and financial positions. In this way the parties see that the mediator has genuine interest in them and their objectives. This helps in establishing their trust in the mediator. The parties and counsel also need to develop trust in each other regarding their joint objective to reach resolution. In advance of the mediation session, I gather available information regarding the nature and history of the dispute and ask that the parties share the information. I conduct a brief introductory conference call and request pre-mediation statements, shared by the parties, with any confidential information submitted to me separately. I enlist counsel as partners in resolving the dispute. At the session I encourage an initial joint meeting of the parties with a brief statement of their cases, followed by individual caucuses of the parties. The initial objective is to effect direct communications between the parties themselves, rather than exclusively through counsel, to provide further information regarding each other's positions, including their thoughts and feelings about the dispute. I respect the positions and feelings of the parties, and I listen very carefully to what they have to say before I make any suggestion. People trust me. I use multiple approaches: facilitative, evaluative and transformative, with an understanding of the needs and world views of the parties. This is crucial especially in employment and other disputes where the issues may be complex, and feelings run high. My patience and superior listening skills contribute to my understanding of the viewpoints and needs of the parties. My settlement rate exceeds 90%.

Remote conferences with fellow panel members and parties. Mediation and arbitration sessions using Zoom and other platforms.

New York University School of Law (JD - 1967, LLM - 1979); Queens College of the City of New York (BA - 1964).

Admitted to the Bar: State of New York (1971).

New York State Bar Association: Alternative Dispute Resolution Section; Real Estate Section, Committee on Cooperatives, Condominiums, Property Owners Associations

McKinney's Practice Commentaries, official compilation of New York statutes: "Real Estate Financing," includes coverage of New York securities law and cooperative interests in realty; Practice Commentaries also to Article 9-B of the New York Real Property Law "The Condominium Act". Joint Presentation with AAA--Annual Meeting of New York State Bar Association "ADR--Can We Talk?"

Manhattan, New York

Hourly Rate: $600.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $600.00/hr Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment:

English

United States of America

New York, New York