Mediator Resume

Arbitrator mediator and attorney. Proud to have been member of the legal profession in various states for over 46 years with primary emphasis on business related disputes and counseling including contracts, securities, intellectual property, and labor, employment, and employee benefits, and commercial disputes including executive employment contracts, shareholder disputes and business breakups.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Offices of Nicholas Taldone

Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator

Principal, Alternative Dispute Resolution Offices of Nicholas Taldone, 2000 - Present; Principal, Law Offices of Nicholas J. Taldone, 1997 - Present; President, Taldone International Inc., 1995 - 1997; Associate, Shanley & Fisher, P.C., 1992 - 1994; Associate, Epstein Becker & Green P.C., 1989 - 1992; Director of Human Resources/Senior Counsel, Grand Metropolitan PLC, 1984 - 1989; Associate, Jackson Lewis Schnitzler & Krupman, 1979 - 1984.

COMMERCIAL INCLUDING SECURITIES After opening law practice in Florida in 1998, emphasized securities and other business disputes including business breakups and shareholder disputes. Has been a FINRA arbitrator for 30 years. CONSUMER Over 15 years experience in consumer disputes under consumer protection laws including under Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). EMPLOYMENT Over 18 years as an employment law litigator and counselor with emphasis in employee relations and employee benefits. Experienced in all aspects of federal and state employment law and employment litigation, including extensive trial practice before federal and state courts, National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor. Experience with employment contracts including non-competes and severance agreements. Experience with theft of intellectual property and trade secrets. Experience in wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment disputes under Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Equal Pay Act (EPA), COBRA, ERISA, MEPPA and USERRA, Experience with all aspects of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) disputes including overtime, and minimum wage. Experience with Occupational Safety Health Act (OSHA) Experience with whistleblower issues under Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act, Sarbanes Oxley Act and Stark Act. Chief negotiator in private sector collective bargaining and counselor on preventative techniques to avoid liability and litigation. As an inside corporate counsel for a Fortune International 500 company, primary counsel to subsidiaries on a variety of legal issues, particularly labor and employment law. ERISA/PENSION Experience with disputes alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims involving retirement plans, including misrepresentation or failure to properly disclose by a plan fiduciary and failure to supervise service providers, experience with ESOP operation and fiduciary duties; experience with disputes regarding payments under stock options and other performance based plans, and with disputes concerning entitlement to disability, pension, death, health and welfare benefits including vacation, PTO and wellness benefits. Experience with disputes over proper calculation of MEPPA withdrawal liability under MEPPA and Pension Protection Act and amendments, over pension and health and welfare plan contributions to, and over alleged breaches of fiduciary duty with respect to, Taft-Hartley plans. Trustee of Company's 401(k) Plan and Deferred Compensation Plan.

Mediated cases as a mediator for the U.S. Postal Service, most involving changes in workplace conditions including transfers, demotions, failure to accommodate a claimed disability, harassment, lack of overtime opportunities etc. Many involved termination issues including failure to reinstate upon return from FMLA leave, termination with and without cause while on probation, and termination for cause. Some involved employee benefit issues involving health care, overtime, and disability or life insurance. Have also mediated cases for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Tampa office between, most involving claims of discrimination in the termination of employment. Have also mediated privately employment disputes involving discrimination issues in the termination of employment, and restrictive covenants and employee benefits issues. Have also mediated securities disputes involving claims that investors lost money due to improper activities by brokerage firms or the issuers of securities. Have also mediated other commercial matters including business breakups and shareholder disputes and denial of property insurance claims.

In employment cases mediated with the U.S. Post office, the primary issue has been a claim of changes in working conditions because of some alleged discriminatory motivation. In employment cases mediated in litigation matters, the primary issue has been a claim of employment discrimination in the termination of employment, with the alleged discriminatory reason evenly split between race, sex, age, and disability. Also mediated commercial cases involving losses by consumers in securities transactions, business breakups, and shareholder disputes, and denials of property insurance claims.

I generally take a transformative approach to mediation whereby I believe that a dispute between parties presents opportunities for individuals to change their interactions with each other or at least their perspectives of the other. I try to empower the participants to understand that the mediation is their process wherein they can engage in decision making without some third party (judge or jury) and can learn the other party's perspective. In this respect, I believe the role of the mediator is more of a facilitator than a director of outcomes. On the other hand, I believe that there are some aspects of evaluative mediation that are valuable including the ability to rely of my expertise in substantive areas to engage in position or reality testing with the parties. I try to be directive of the process, i.e. making sure the parties are working hard to at least engage in asking the right questions, as opposed to directive of the outcome, i.e. steering the parties to an outcome I deem appropriate. I view the parties' roles in mediation as active decision-makers in a solution to their dispute. I believe the parties should identify the issues they themselves believe are important in resolving the dispute which often times is not just money.

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Albany Law School (JD-1979); State University of New York at Albany (BS-1976).

Admitted to the Bar: New York (1980); New Jersey (1983), California (1986), Florida (1997); U.S. District Court: Eastern (1980) and Southern (1980) Districts of New York, Middle and Southern District of Florida (1997); U.S. Court of Appeals: Third Circuit (1994); U.S. Supreme Court (1986).

American Bar Association(1980-2000); California Bar Association; New York Bar Association(1980-1996); New Jersey Bar Association(1980-1999); Florida Bar Association (1997 to present),Member of ADR Section of Florida Bar, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association(2003-2012).

2018 speaker at Florida Dispute Resolution Conference, Orlando Florida; Co-author, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW, Supplement, 1994; "Techniques to Prevent Liability for Employee Benefit Plans," CORPORATE COUNSEL"S QUARTERLY, 1994; "Ten Recommendations on Hiring Practices Under the New Disabilities Law," CORPORATE COUNSEL'S QUARTERLY, 1993; "Is the New Jersey Family Leave Law Preempted by ERISA?" NEW JERSEY LAW JOURNAL, 1990; editor-in-chief, NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1987-89; "Preemption of Wrongful Discharge Claims of Union Employees," EMPLOYEE RELATIONS LAW JOURNAL, 1986; "The Prevailing Wage Law: Problems for Public Contractors Prevail," NEW YORK STATE BAR JOURNAL, 1985; "Preventive Labor Relations in the Telephone Industry," TELEPHONY, 1984; "Exclusion of Unionized Employees from Retirement Plans," NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, 1983.

Within Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Pasco and Hernando

Hourly Rate: $350.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $350.00/hr Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment: Two hour minimum charged for mediation services. The fee above applies to two-party mediations; for cases involving more than two parties, the fee is $200/hour per party with a two hour minimum. Cancellation fee of $500 may be applied at mediator's discretion to cancellations within seven calendar days of the mediation.

English

United States of America

New Port Richey, Florida