Mediator Resume

Over forty years of experience handling complex business disputes in arbitration and litigation, and on appeal (including in the US Supreme Court). Practice has included high-stakes business issues involving corporate and LLC governance/business divorce, M&A-generated disputes such as earnout and indemnification claims, investment banking fee litigation, cross-border transactions, UCC Article 2 issues, securities, creditors rights and related debtor-creditor issues and real estate financing. Active in the ABA Business Law Section, NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section, NYC Bar Association and Nassau County Bar Association.

Wilk Auslander LLP - Partner

Attorney

Partner, Wilk Auslander LLP, 1994 - Present; Associate, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, 1990 - 1994; Associate, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 1985 - 1990; Law Clerk, Hon. Peter K. Leisure, United States District Court, Southern District Of New York, 1984 - 1985.

Extensive experience in a wide range of business disputes, both domestic and international. Represented businesses ranging from major international and Fortune 500 companies to individual entrepreneurs, in an array of industries including hedge funds, private equity, biotech, securities, manufacturing, banking, apparel, real estate, technology, sports, health care, communications technology, media and entertainment, and retail. Recent notable matters include obtaining a $45 million judgment against PDVSA, affirmed on appeal; serving on trial team obtaining a judgment (affirmed on appeal) of almost $100 million against Deutsche Bank in a dispute arising from a credit default swap; defeating a fee claim by an investment bank (also affirmed on appeal); defeating attempt by major energy technology company to prevent client from proceeding with contract claims in another state; winning summary judgment for a plaintiff seeking control of a NYC office building pursuant to a buy-sell provision in an LLC agreement; obtaining dismissal (affirmed on appeal) of fraud and breach of fiduciary claims arising from sale of a NYC loft building; and obtaining discovery in New York in aid of proceedings in Brazil. Expertise covers financial services disputes, including investment banking and swap transactions based on ISDA forms; disputes concerning financing, leasing, purchasing and selling real estate; corporate and LLC governance issues under both New York and Delaware law; disputes concerning merger and acquisition transactions, including earnouts, indemnification and holdbacks; and cross-border disputes concerning such issues as licenses, distribution, copyright and trademark protection. Experience also includes bankruptcy and debtor-creditor issues, including issues relating to the automatic stay, § 363 sales, preferences, fraudulent conveyances and related state law issues. FINANCIAL SERVICES – handled disputes in numerous aspects of the financial services industry. These include claims for investment banking or consulting fees; disputes about credit default swaps and related ISDA-form-based transactions; disputes concerning FDCPA and FATCA issues; disputes under share purchase or asset purchase agreements; insurance and premium finance. COMMERCIAL RELATIONS – experience with diverse claims for breach of contract, fraud and related business torts. Extensive expertise in contractual interpretation and construction, fraud and negligent misrepresentation issues, and the effect of various “boilerplate” provisions. The disputes have come up in numerous contexts and industries, including disputes generated by mergers and acquisitions transactions such as share purchase or asset purchase agreements; the issues have included earnouts, indemnification and holdbacks, representations and warranties, and corporate authority and authorization. Also worked with non-competition, non-disparagement and non-solicitation provisions. Significant experience with cross-border and international transactions, including transactions with sovereign entities and attendant FSIA issues. Handled numerous cases about manufacturing, sale and distribution of industrial, commercial and consumer goods with significant experience in UCC Article 2. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY – Extensive experience with professional liability claims against attorneys and accountants, including related insurance coverage issues. CORPORATE and LLC GOVERNANCE/BUSINESS DIVORCE – Handled cases concerning rights and powers of officers, directors and shareholders of corporations as well as of managers and members of LLCs under both Delaware and New York law. These cases involved issues regarding the operation and effect of corporate charters, bylaws, board resolutions and shareholder agreements (in the case of corporations), and in the case of LLCs, the operation and effect of Operating

Handled mediations for the past 25 years, having gained a deep appreciation for the value of having expert assistance from a mediator in how to view a dispute holistically, with attention to both the legal and nonlegal considerations that drive a dispute. Mediations concerned disputes in a wide range of industries including banking, insurance, consulting, finance, health care, biotechnology, fitness, computer consulting and more.

Participated in mediations concerning a wide range of issues including biotechnology licensing; claims among investors in a startup; supply contracts; family trusts; unfair competition; manufacturing defects; banking disputes concerning swaps; ESOP claims; employee claims for allegedly accrued benefits; seller claims in a rollup; claims for commissions under a consulting agreement; claims by bankruptcy trustee; and more.

I head into each mediation with the objective of having the parties be comfortable about being candid with me about what their objectives and concerns truly are. To that end, I ask them to provide me in advance of the mediation with detailed statements of their views of the facts, the positions they have previous taken in settlement discussions (if any), their business concerns and what they envision as successful resolution. Ideally the statements would be shared with the other side in full; but to the extent either party believes it would be detrimental to its legal position to disclose certain items to the adversary, they should provide me with a confidential supplement to the exchanged mediation statement, which would be for mediator's eyes only. During the mediation my main role is to listen to the parties and be sure I understand their positions and concerns thoroughly. Only with a good understanding is it possible to discuss the issues intelligently so that the parties truly can make informed decisions in their own best interest.

Familiar with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Working familiarity with office technology, including Word, PowerPoint, Adobe, video software, photographic software and the like. Regular user of legal AI including Westlaw assisted research and Harvey, as well as general AI tools including Gemini and Claude.

Columbia University School of Law (J.D. - 1984); Queens College, City University of New York (B.A. - 1981).

Admitted to the Bar: New York (1985); United States District Court: Southern District of New York (1986), Eastern District of New York (1986), Western District of New York (1997); United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1997), Third Circuit (1993); United States Supreme Court (1999); United States Tax Court (1992); US Court of Federal Claims (2025).

American Bar Association, Business Law Section (Chair, Business and Corporate Litigation Committee 2019-2022 and member of Council 2022-2026); ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism (member 2024-2027); ABA Litigation Section (Commercial and Business Litigation Committee, Corporate Counsel Committee); Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Federal Courts, Judiciary and Arbitration Committees); New York State Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section (Chair of New Practitioners Committee, Chair of Sports ADR Committee)), Commercial and Federal Litigation Section); New York County Lawyers Association; Nassau County Bar Association.

Recent programs and articles include: Program Chair and Moderator, “Does Your Client Really Want to Go Public?” ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting, April 16, 2026. Faculty Member, “Business Owners Beware: – What You Need To Know About Recent Developments in ADR,” ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting (September 13, 2024) "New Frontiers in the Attorney-Client Privilege," ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting, September 2023 (Program Chair and Moderator) "Book Spotlight: Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts – Fifth Edition," Business Law Today (July 31, 2023) “Strength through Uncertainty: New Delaware Chancery Court Ruling Potentially Enables Delaware Companies to ‘Ratify’ Corporate Acts That Might (or Might Not) Be Defective,” Business Law Today (March 15, 2023) (with Scott Watnik) “Arbitration Agreements: No Worse Than Other Contracts But No Better, Either,” Business Law Today (June 28, 2022) “United States Supreme Court Holds Section 1782 Discovery Cannot Be Used for Private Arbitrations,” Business Law Today (June 28, 2022) Faculty Member, Corporate/Litigation Track Program: “IP and Distressed Companies,” American Intellectual Property Law Association Spring Meeting (May 13, 2021) Host, “Unusual Litigations – Disputes that Look Different,” ABA Business Law Section podcast series “Getting Evidence In The US Before Commencing Litigation In Europe: Flexible Use Of 28 USC § 1782,” International Law News Fall 2021, p.16 “The Growing Circuit Split About § 1782 – Can It Be Used for Private Arbitration?,” Mealey’s International Arbitration Report (LexisNexis October 2020) "Intellectual Property Licenses: The Impact of Bankruptcy," presentation at Practicing Law Institute, "Understanding the Intellectual Property License," (1999-2011, 2013-2023) Faculty Member, "Alternative Strategies in Putative Class Actions After Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez" (Strafford Webinars, July 18, 2019) “Drafting Arbitration Agreements in Business Contracts,” Business Law Basics Webinar, ABA Business Law Section (April 25, 2019) “Confirming Arbitration Awards Made Abroad,” ABA Litigation Section, Commercial and Business Litigation Committee (August 30, 2017) Program Co-Chair and Moderator, "There Is No Such Thing As Boilerplate: Issues in the Back of the Contract,” ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting (September 8, 2016)

New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland.

Hourly Rate: Not provided Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: Not provided Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment: Compensation rates, established by the AAA, are set forth in the applicable Consumer Mediation Procedures.

English

United States of America

New York, New York