Mediator Resume

Highly qualified attorney, author, editor and professor. Law firm and solo practice alternating with public sector law, university teaching. Transactional lawyer committed to clarity of goals, drafting for dispute prevention. Extensive administrative experience in non-profit organizations, including American Bar Association Section Chair. Former General Counsel of state agency and government lawyer, specializing primarily in municipal and regulatory land use law. Editor of book on hydraulic fracturing acclaimed for its scope and objectivity. Co-editor of heirs' property book focused on civil rights and tenancy in common due to intestacy. Long-term editor of quarterly American Bar Association publication.

Erica Levine Powers, Esq - Solo Practitioner

Attorney, Non-Profit Volunteer Leader, Author, Editor, Professor

Solo Practitioner, Erica Levine Powers, Esq, 2009-2019, 2020-Present; Senior Zoning Lawyer, City of Atlanta Law Department, 2019-2020; Solo Practitioner, Newburgh NY, 2003-2009; Of Counsel, Tarshis, Catania, Liberth, Mahon & Milligram, 2006-2007; Of Counsel, Greenwald Law Offices, 2007-2008; Special Projects, Law Offices of Marc S. Gerstman, Esq., 2008; Sole Practitioner, Lowell and Concord MA, 1997-2002; Sole Practitioner, Montgomery County and Baltimore MD, 1987-1991; In-House Consultant, Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission, 1988-1991; In-House Consultant, City of Baltimore Law Department, 1987; Solo Practitioner, Boston MA, 1984-1987; Associate, Harrison & Maguire, 1985-1986; General Counsel, Massachusetts Dept. of Food & Agriculture, 1983- 1984; General Counsel, City of Boston, 1980- 1983; Counsel to Deputy Mayor/Collector Treasurer, City of Boston, 1981-1983; Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Boston, 1980-1981; Associate, Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett, 1978- 1980; Associate, Goldstein & Manello, 1977; Staff Counsel, Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks, 1975- 1976; Solo Practitioner, Boston, 1971-1977; In-House Counsel, Boston Comptroller, Museum of Fine Arts, 1971-1972. Adjunct Professor, Albany Law School, Spring 2023; Affiliated Scholar (since 2013)/Adjunct Professor, State University at Albany, 2008-2009, 2012-Present; Adjunct faculty, Dept. Philosophy, Mount St. Mary College, 2003-2004; Visiting Professor, Massey University, New Zealand, 1996; Visiting Professor, Cornell University, 1994-1995; Visiting Professor, Iowa State University, 1993-1994; Visiting Professor, University of Iowa Spring, 1993; Visiting Assistant Professor, Ithaca College School of Business, 1991-1992; Visiting Assistant Professor, Loyola College Maryland School of Business, 1989-1990.

Transactional and regulatory law practice with primary emphasis on contracts, land use, zoning, municipal law, building codes, infrastructure, home rule, permitting, hydraulic fracturing, public meetings and hearings. Represented a co-owner of a building in an office-sharing arrangement with complex overlapping business relationships. As review lawyer for a party in a collaborative divorce, examined permitted building uses and related insurance and mortgage issues. Advised a landowner about permitting for potential conversion of an outbuilding on a rural property. As senior zoning lawyer for the City of Atlanta, supervised junior lawyers, advised the Planning Director and the Building and Planning Departments; successfully negotiated safety requirements in construction of hospital operating rooms to protect against fire hazards, following a change of hospital counsel and replacement of the construction supervisor. Represented a Massachusetts nonprofit seeking to acquire land, in connection with a Farmers' Home Administration loan foreclosure, that proved to be contaminated. Commercial lending experience in Boston including real estate-based industrial revenue bonds and documentation review for Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency. Represented owners of Aroostook County, Maine timberlands concerning the Regional Planning Commission's proposed acquisition of isolated woods with deer yards for a non-rural campground, and established a nonprofit Lakes Association. As General Counsel of Massachusetts Department of Food & Agriculture, supervised legal staff and outside litigation counsel; conducted milk pricing ratemaking hearings; drafted legislation, regulations, and agricultural land preservation programs; served as legislative liaison with the Massachusetts legislature; conducted internal investigations; reported directly to Commissioner of Agriculture and originated solutions implementing special policy assignments from the Commissioner, including horse breeding and racing program investigation.

As a mediator in New York Civil Court, mediated assigned cases under $50,000 on a pro bono basis. Ten disputes were mediated on Zoom during a period of 18 months between December 2022 and June 2024. Eighty percent settled. Observed mediation for four personal injury insurance cases, one of which was a wrongful death due to a murder, and to compare the style of three mediators. In Spring 2023 taught ADR to 2L and 3L students at Albany Law School, including multiple role-plays and guest appearances by dispute resolution colleagues. In 2024 was privileged to be a facilitator in New York State Bar Association Commercial Mediation training in Spring and Fall sessions.

In New York Civil Court, mediated cases under $50,000 including consumer complaints against car manufacturers and online retailers selling large appliances; complaints arising from misperception of role of credit card company; supplier conflicts with small business customers grounded in mistrust due to cultural differences and lack of communication; claims to recover erroneous payments for contractors' real property services; landlord-tenant issues concerning real property repairs by tenants and return of security deposits; independent contractors' claims for payment for services; doctors' claims for services with related misunderstandings about medical insurance availability; and disputes between friends about personal loan repayment.

I enjoy being a mediator. It suits my personality. I believe in preparation. I draw on an excellent memory and a steel trap mind for details. Unusually for a lawyer, I reason inductively. My initial goal in a mediation is to establish trust and provide an opportunity for the parties to speak their concerns. I respect everyone in the room, whether in person or online. In addition to careful listening, there is a place for silence. When the parties to the mediation are ready, I am willing to think "outside the box" and encourage others to do so. I recognize that settlement is not always possible. Sometimes, a mediation can be useful to resolve, and therefore narrow, the issues to be litigated. In Civil Court mediation, where the parties often are pro se, beginning with the initial phone call I seek to create a sense of trust while making clear that my role is as a neutral and it's up to the parties to air their concerns and arrive at agreement. I do not use technical language. If there are documents, I ask to have them provided to me. Usually each of the parties tells me something about the dispute when I make the initial call. Sometimes we don't convene a hearing due to the parties' work schedules, and the dispute is resolved in a series of phone calls that serves as a set of caucuses. In more than one mediation the parties not only agreed but also began or even finished payment before a settlement was signed. I have been trained to do reality testing, irrespective of the complexity of the case. As a process, I listen respectfully. I say "I hear X." I pay attention and I remember. Having set the groundwork and listened carefully, I then begin to question, in caucus: have you considered Y; what will you do if Z. This is non-confrontational and it serves as a reality check. This is similar to my approach working on a transaction, particularly where the expectation is that the agreement will last for a number of years in the course of changing circumstances. At the end of caucus, I ask what I may convey to the other side. I am comfortable letting parties get their anger out. I also am not shy when dealing with strong personalities, whether parties or counsel. If asked by counsel to help a client understand some of the realities of the legal case, I would seek a tactful way to assist. I have not yet been in a situation where I have been asked for a mediator's proposal. I have observed gifted mediators tactfully raising issues with each side, bringing the mediation to a conclusion, or suggesting that it's time to stop for the time being, perhaps recess the mediation. As an observer, I have been fortunate to be included on a phone call when a mediation that has stopped begins to move toward settlement after a plaintiff has thought it through. I look forward to the opportunity to mediate more complex cases and work with counsel to facilitate the mediation process. Of course, in those cases, if a settlement is reached, I will make sure that there is a written fact sheet, at the very least, signed by all, before people leave the room, with follow-up for the written agreement. As a transactional lawyer, I draw on my life experience. I grew up learning at the dinner table, from the time I was nine years old. My parents impressed on their children the need for confidentiality, and then spoke freely about business issues, local politics, and the institutional and charitable boards on which they sat. This training helps me, as a lawyer and a mediator, to be attuned to the underlying personal and interpersonal issues in a transaction.

Familiar with Zoom; a frequent user, willing to conduct hearings and conferences using this platform. Some familiarity with Teams. Willing to learn to use other platforms.

Boston University School of Law (LLM, Taxation - 1976; JD - 1971); Harvard University, Radcliffe College (AB, cum laude, Modern European History & Literature - 1965).

Admitted to the Bar: Massachusetts (1971), Maryland (1987), New York (2003).

American Bar Association (Section of State & Local Government Law, Section Chair 2020-2021. Current Council member; Co-Chair, Judicial & ADR Committee; Chair, Jefferson B. Fordham Society (501(c)(3) organization); member of Jefferson B. Fordham Awards committee; member of Publications Oversight Board and Urban Lawyer Advisory Board (2024-present). Section of Dispute Resolution: Advisory Board member/Council representative (2020-2024). Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, member.); New York State Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section, elected Secretary (June 2023-present); By-laws Task Force Co-Chair (2023-2024), Legislative Committee Co-Chair (2022-2024); Mediation Committee Mentorship Co-Manager/ Co-Chair (2021-2024). Local and State Government Section, Environmental and Energy Law Section, Trusts & Estates Law Section, and Elder Law and Special Needs Section: member.); Women's Bar Association of the State of New York (member, Orange-Sullivan Chapter. Orange-Sullivan Chapter President 2005-2006.).

Co-editor, with MacArthur Fellow Thomas W. Mitchell, Reporter of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), "Heirs' Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act: Challenges, Solutions and Historic Reform" (Thomas W. Mitchell & Erica Levine Powers, eds., ABA 2022). Books: Lead editor, "Beyond the Fracking Wars: A Guide for Lawyers, Public Officials, Planners, and Citizens" (Erica Levine Powers & Beth E. Kinne, eds., ABA 2013). Lead chapter author, with Adam Yagelski, "The Oil and Gas Industry: Operations and Best Practices." Book is acclaimed for its scope and objectivity. Selected articles: "Fracking Wars Revisited: Legal Lessons," Planning (June 2017); "The State of the Play: Zoning Meets Shale Exploration," 38 Zoning and Planning Law Report no.7 (July 2015); "Home Rule Meets State Regulation: Reflections on High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas," ABA State & Local Law News, vol. 35, no. 2 (Winter 2012); co-author with Catherine T. Lawson et al., "Estimation of Freight Trip Generation Based on Land Use," Transportation Research Board NCFRP25 (2012). Book reviews: Hon. Bernice B. Donald and Prof. Sarah E. Redfield, "Extending Justice: Strategies to Increase Inclusion and Reduce Bias" ABA State & Local Law News, vol. 46, no.2 (Fall 2023); Eugene Bunnell, PhD, "Buffalo's Waterfront Renaissance: Citizen Activists, NGOs and the Canalside Project," ABA State & Local Law News, vol. 47, no.2 (Fall 2024). As editor of the quarterly ABA State & Local Law News (Fall 2013 through Summer 2017), solicited authors, designed and edited content, and published chapters of ABA State & Local Government Law (SLG) books, to expand substantive legal content of a publication that is also a major source of SLG communication with Section members. Acceptance speech, Jefferson B. Fordham/ Daniel J. Curtin Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from ABA Section of State & Local Government Law, August 2, 2024. Interviewed by Juan Thomas, Chair, ABA Section of Civil Rights & Social Justice (CR&SJ) on "Involuntary Land Loss" ABA/CR&SJ "Chair's Chat" on YouTube, August 30, 2023. American Bar Association Section of State & Local Government Law: Moderator, "Presumptive Mediation in New York and Maryland, A Blueprint for the Future" at ABA State & Local Government Law Spring Conference, May 3, 2024, White Plains, NY. Moderator, "Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Potential Uses of Collaborative Law in Family, Corporate and Employment Situations," for NYSBA DR Virtual, April 16, 2024. Organized and moderated, Albany County Bar Association, "Rules of Engagement at Public Hearings and Meetings," with Executive Director of NY State Committee on Open Government and Deputy Chair of Albany County Legislature, October 24, 2023. Organized and moderated a New York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section CLE Roundtable on December 7, 2022: "Using Alternative Dispute Resolution to Address Racial, Ethnic and Socio-Economic Disparities in Heirs' Property Ownership" co-sponsored by ABA. Co-Moderator, Roundtable "Timing of Mediation: Conduct it Sooner or Later? the Experts Decide" at NYSBA 2022 Fall Conference, October 20, 2022. Chair, "Preserving Family Real Estate, Generational Wealth, and Heritage: A Virtual ABA National Institute on Heirs' Property" August 25-26, 2021. Chair ABA Virtual National Institute on Resiliency May 12 and 19, 2021.

Hourly Rate: $375.00 Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: $200.00/hr Cancellation: $1,500.00/Day Cancellation Period: 3 Days Comment: Hearing time begins with prehearing calls to counsel/parties. Study time includes review of written submissions. Travel charge starts at 60 miles from Albany. Expenses include refreshments during hearings, and costs of venue (if applicable). Cancellation time period begins 72 hours before scheduled hearing time.

English

United States of America

Albany, New York