Mediator Resume

Founder of Bierman ADR LLC, serves as an independent arbitrator, mediator, and dispute resolution advisor based in New York and Connecticut. Previously was a partner at law firm Sidley Austin LLP, serving as head or co-head of the New York Litigation Group, co-leader of the firm's global Complex Commercial Litigation practice, and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. With five decades’ practical experience and having served as mediator or arbitrator in more than 300 cases, brings a unique perspective and record of success to creative and effective dispute solutions.

Bierman ADR LLC - Independent Arbitrator, Mediator, and Dispute Resolution Advisor

Independent Arbitrator, Mediator, and Dispute Resolution Advisor, and Attorney

Arbitrator, Mediator, and Dispute Resolution Advisor, Bierman ADR LLC, 2022 to present; Partner, Sidley Austin LLP, 1986 - 2021; Associate, Sidley Austin LLP, 1983 - 1985; Associate, Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood, 1976 - 1983.

Before becoming an independent arbitrator and mediator and founder of Bierman ADR LLC (see separate description of neutral experience), was a partner at global law firm Sidley Austin LLP for 36 years, heading or co-leading the firm’s New York Litigation Group for 25 years, co-led the Global Commercial Litigation and Disputes practice, and served on Sidley's Executive Committee. As a lead litigator and trial lawyer, represented a diverse roster of corporate and individual clients in high-stakes U.S. and cross-border commercial and corporate disputes including claims of breach of contract, beach or warranties, fraud, tortious interference and business torts, breach of fiduciary duties, partnership and joint venture disputes, M&A and asset purchase-related, insurance coverage, rep and warranty, and reinsurance disputes, securities and shareholder derivative, antitrust, RICO and conspiracy, debtor-creditor, fraudulent conveyance, and bankruptcy violations, consumer and data breach class claims, licensing disputes and theft of trade secret, false advertising, unfair competition, deceptive billing claims, provenance and ownership of fine art and music, employment and workplace claims including non-competes and class and collective discrimination claims, and civil rights claims. Principal business sectors included financial services, asset management, energy, telecom, insurance, real estate, and entertainment. Recognized multiple times by Benchmark Litigation as a U.S. and N.Y. Commercial Litigation Star, Best Lawyers in America, and The Legal 500, and is an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Substantial experience mediating wide range of complex, high-stakes, and high-emotion disputes. Served as mediator in more than 200 cases, including individual, multi-party and class and collective actions, and has provided early neutral evaluation of claims and facilitated dispute resolution process design. Previous practice as a litigator featured decades of successfully representating corporate and individual parties in mediation of diverse disputes. Accredited as a mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), certified in dispute prevention by the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Serves on multiple ADR rosters, including the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Commercial Arbitrators and Mediators and the AAA’s Consumer Panels of Arbitrators and Mediators, the CPR International Institute’s Panel of Distinguished Neutrals (arbitrator, mediator, and dispute prevention), the Mediation Panels for the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and mediator rosters of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, including the Commercial Division for New York County. Served on the S.D.N.Y. Mediator Advisory Committee and serves on the E.D.N.Y. ADR Council. Specially honored in 2024 as a recipient of Eighth Annual James Duane Award, presented by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for exemplary service to the Court as a mediator and contributions to the rule of law. Leadership includes served as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute, as Co-Chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s Mediation Committee, and as Co-Chair of CPR Institute’s Mediation Committee, member of Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section and co-chair of its Publications Committee, member of Executive Committee of the Justice Marie L. Garibaldi ADR American Inn of Court, member of the ADR Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and member of the New York International Arbitration Center.

Mediated a wide range of disputes and issues, including claims of breach of a variety of commercial and consumer contracts involving purchase and sale of assets, goods, and services, leases of equipment and real property, distribution agreements, licensing agreements, and non-compete and non-solicitation covenants; breach of representations and warranties; fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent misrepresentation; breach of fiduciary duties; tortious interference with contract and other business torts; misappropriation of trade secrets; defamation and trade defamantion; employment discrimination based on gender, race, national origin, and age; wage and hour claims under Fair Labor Standards Act and state laws; consumer claims including unfair trade practices and deceptive advertising; violation of housing laws; violation of racketeering (RICO); violation of federal securities laws; violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act; violation of Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act, and U.S. Constitution; violation of Americans With Disabilities Act and state laws; and amount of sanctions levied by court for discovery and other litigation misconduct.

Mediation is a powerful tool to help people and companies in conflict find common ground and forge a negotiated solution to their differences, allowing them to move forward in life or business in lieu of the expense, uncertainty, strain, and time involved if they instead continue in dispute. Mediation is party driven, not mediator driven, and each matter requires a bespoke approach. I take pains to ensure that the mediation experience is fair and respectful for all participants. I typically hold a preliminary planning conference with counsel to explore how the mediation process can efficiently, cost-effectively, and best serve the parties’ interests and, when beneficial, separate conferences with each side, including parties with their counsel. At the mediation session itself, both in joint session and in separate caucus meetings with the parties, I strive to be a patient listener and to hear, truly, what all participants say, to be empathetic while focusing attention on the practical, and to be curious and to ask questions that help participants identify issues and risks, explore viable options, and move toward an acceptable solution. I see my role as facilitating that possible resolution, by helping parties cut through the posturing and noise to what really matters to them, adding my assessment of issues or the case where the parties request. The core mediation principle of party self-determination guides me: it is the parties’ dispute, as must be any negotiated resolution, however much I may facilitate the outcome. I bring to bear my skills as a neutral developed in mediating and arbitrating more than 300 cases, my deep appreciation and respect for the parties’ underlying business or personal circumstances, and my creativity, judgment, and experience born of more than four decades litigating a wide range of disputes, in service of the parties potentially arriving at a satisfactory resolution.

Have conducted more than 200 mediations (and arbitrations) on Zoom or other videoconference platforms and am skilled in managing remote hearings involving multiple parties. Adept at managing electronically transmitted exhibits and briefs and utilixing Excel and other spreadsheets.

Georgetown University Law Center (JD 1976); University Of Pennsyvania, Wharton School (BS Econ., with honors 1973)

Admitted to the Bar: New York (1977); U.S. District Courts for S.DN.Y. and E.D.N.Y. (1977); U.S. Courts of Appeals: Second Circuit (1988), Third Circuit (1988), and Ninth Circuit (1999); and United States Supreme Court (1988).

American Bar Association: served as Chair of Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute and as Co-Chair Mediation Committee; elected member of Dispute Resolution Section Council; member Litigation Section CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR): serves as Co-Chair Mediation Committee, led Task Force on revisions to CPR Mediation Procedure; member CPR Council. Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR): Accredited Mediator. Justice Marie L. Garibaldi American Inn of Court for Alternative Dispute Resolution: Member of Executive Committee. New York State Bar Association, Co-Editor in Chief of New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer (journal), Co-Editor in Chief; member of Executive Committee of Dispute Resolution Section; member of Mediation and Arbitration Committees. New York City Bar Association: member of Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC), Member.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: Co-Editor-in-Chief, The New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer (Journal of NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section) (2024 - present) Editor, “The Complex Commercial Litigation Law Review” and co-author of “New York” chapter (Law Business Research, 3d ed. 2021) “E-Commerce Litigation” chapter, “Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts” (Thomson Reuters, 5th ed. 2020; supp. 2025) "Arbitration Award of Attorneys' Fees Upheld in the Face of the 'American Rule': An Analysis of American Zurich Insurance Co. v. Sun Holdings, Inc.," in The New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, vol. 17, no. 2 (Fall 2024) “Enforcing Mediated Settlement Agreements, or When Is A Deal Really A Deal: An Analysis of ‘Murphy v. Institute of International Education’,” in New York State Bar Association Journal, vol. 94, no. 5 (Fall 2022) “Hitting ‘Send’ May A Settlement Make: An Analysis of Philadelphia Insurance Indemnity Co. v. Kendall,” with Gaelle E. Tribie, in New York State Bar Association Journal, vol. 94, no. 2 (Spring 2022) “The Reach of Non-Party Arbitral Subpoenas May Not Be So Long: An Analysis of Broumand v. Joseph,” with Gaelle E. Tribie, in The New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, vol. 14, no. 2 (Fall 2021) RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: Speaker, program on “Working with Self-Represented Parties: Practical Strategies for AAA-ICDR Mediators,” American Arbitration Association/ICDR (October 2025) Speaker, panel on “Managing Complexity – High-Stakes, Cross-Border, and Multicultural Mediation,” American Arbitration Association/ICDR (July 2025) Speaker, panel on “The Mediator’s Proposal and How to Use It,” NJ Assn. of Professional Mediators Spring Seminar (May 2025) Moderator, panel on “Great Expectations: Adapt, Prepare, and Anticipate to Enhance Mediation Outcomes,” 22nd Annual American Bar Association Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute (October 2025) Speaker, “Strategic Preparation to Optimize Mediation Outcomes: Practical Tools for Mediators, Counsel, and Parties,” The New Possibilities Hour (June 2025) Speaker on panel, "Dispute Prevention: Moving from Theory to Practice," 2025 Annual Meeting of CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (February 2025) Speaker on panel, "Online Mediation: Five Years In," Litigation Section of American Bar Association (January 2025) Moderator of panel, "Resolution Intelligence for Mediators, Advocates, and Parties: Practical Tools to Maximize the Experience and Results," 21st Annual American Bar Association Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute (October 2024) Speaker on panel, "Mediating High Conflict, High Emotion Disputes," New York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Fall 2024 meeting (September 2024) Moderator of panel, "Hard Decisions, Helpful Solutions: Strategic Decision Making for Mediators, Litigators, and Parties," 20th Annual American Bar Association Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute (October 2023) Speaker on panel, "Preparing for Mediation: Best Practices for Lawyers," CPR International Institute Mediation Skills Training (October 2023) Speaker on panel, "Ethical Challenges in Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution," 2023 Annual Meeting of CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (March 2023) Moderator of panel, “Changing Hats: Ethical Challenges in Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution,” at 19th Annual American Bar Association Advanced Mediation and Advocacy Skills Institute (December 2022) Speaker on panel, “Mixing Modes to Resolve Disputes,” Justice Marie Garibaldi American Inn of Court for ADR (September 2022) Moderator of panel, "Emerging Ethics Issues in ADR," Justice Marie Garibaldi American Inn of Court for ADR (April 2022)

New York, NY and Fairfield County, CT.

Hourly Rate: $875.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $875.00/hr Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: 3 Days 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