Since joining JAMS as a full-time neutral in 1989, Michael D. Young, Esq. has conducted approximately 2500 complex or multi-party mediations and arbitrations in over thirty states (as well as in Puerto Rico) and abroad (such as in London, Rome, Madrid, and Zurich), including approximately 350 arbitrations, appraisals, or other binding dispute resolution proceedings.

Mr. Young has mediated and arbitrated all types of disputes. He currently focuses his practice on the arbitration of cross-border disputes of all kinds, of domestic business and  commercial cases, and of insurance coverage matters. 

He has been recognized by various publications and members of the legal community as one of the most skilled and widely respected mediators and arbitrators in the United States. Specifically, Best Lawyers chose him as “Lawyer of the Year” for Arbitration (New York City) for 2024 and 2021. Mr. Young is also an elected Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators.

As a mediator, Chambers and Partners identified Mr. Young as one of the top mediators in the United States and bestowed its highest ranking (Band One) on him from 2016-2023. Chambers has noted “his deft, subtle handling of mediations…” and his reputation as that of a “very talented yet very humble” mediator who “enjoys a strong reputation for his expert  understanding of complex insurance and class action disputes, as well as a wide range of other matters." Best Lawyers chose him as “Lawyer of the Year” for Mediation (New York City) for 2019. Finally, he has been recognized in Who’s Who Legal for Commercial Mediation since 2014 (noting that he "receives praise internationally as a standout practitioner," and is recognized for his “conciliatory and diplomatic approach to disputes”) and, by the same publication, as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in 2022 and as a “WWL Thought Leader: USA” in 2023. Mr. Young has also been recognized by Who’s Who Legal for Insurance and Reinsurance over multiple years. 

In addition to serving on the JAMS domestic and international mediation and arbitration panels, Mr. Young is a member of the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention Panel of Distinguished Neutrals and a member of the panels of the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the Singapore International Mediation Centre, and the Center of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in Israel. He has arbitrated matters under the rules of most major arbitral institutions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).

Representative Matters – Arbitrations and Other Adjudicative Processes

• Chairperson of a three-arbitrator tribunal in an ICC proceeding involving a valuation dispute between Korean and Japanese companies
• Member of a three-arbitrator tribunal in a Library of Congress Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel proceeding involving the allocation of a $200 million copyright royalty fund among various copyright holder claimant groups
• Member of a three-arbitrator tribunal in a one-hundred-million-dollar-plus claim against the developer of a popular video game, that addressed contract, patent, and copyright issues
• Sole arbitrator in a breach of contract dispute between the manufacturer of an airplane landing gear and its supplier following the termination of the supplier
• Sole arbitrator in a collection action brought by a litigation funder against a litigant in which issues of enforceability of the agreement were litigated
• Sole arbitrator in a breach of contract dispute between a casino operator and a hotel developer regarding the termination of a development deal
• Umpire in various binding property-damage insurance appraisals, including matters arising out of the World Trade Center collapse, as well as out of weather events such as tornados
• Sole arbitrator in post-acquisition disputes between sellers and buyers of various types of businesses 
• Member of three-arbitrator tribunals in claims brought against insurers, including claims relating to "reps and warranties" insurance policies
• Arbitrator in numerous other insurance coverage disputes – mostly as an Umpire or as the Chairperson of three-arbitrator tribunals – relating to coverage under all types of policies
• Arbitrator in matters involving multiple trade secrets claims between companies, or between companies and individuals, in the life sciences or bio-tech fields
• Allocator of settlement proceeds among class or collective action members, including in class action against a law firm with respect to tax shelters 

Representative Matters – Mediations 

Mr. Young has mediated numerous: (a) cross-border commercial disputes (most recently, a contract dispute between a Singaporean engine manufacturer and a Norwegian oil platform builder – conducted in London); (b) insurance coverage disputes, including with London- and Bermuda-based carriers, and including claims under Directors & Officers (D&O), “reps and warranties,” first party property damage, Errors & Omissions (E&O), Commercial General Liability (CGL), Fidelity and other types of policies, at both excess and primary levels; (c) legal malpractice claims involving, for example, missing statutes of limitations and conflicts of interests, as well as claims of accountant malpractice alleging, for example, errors in tax filings or financial statements, and other types of professional liability matters, such as claims against actuaries; and (d) class actions, including securities and fraud claims for alleged misrepresentations by executives of public companies or sponsors of limited partnerships and related claims against attorneys and accountants, as well as federal False Claims Act qui tam actions against major hospital systems and other entities, and wage and hour class/collective actions in a vast array of industries.

Other Professional Activities

• The Glimmerglass (Opera) Festival
• Chairperson, Board of Trustees, 2023-2024 
• Member, Board of Trustees, 2019-2023
• Legal Services NYC
• Member, Board of Directors, 2017-2022
• Chairperson, Board of Directors, 2014-2017
• Vice-Chairperson, Board of Directors, 2011-2014
• Member, Board of Directors, the JAMS Foundation, 2013-2018
• Member, JAMS Corporate Board of Directors, 2000-2010

Background and Education

• Interim Executive Director, Legal Services NYC, 2010-2011
• Litigator, Public and Private Sectors, 1978-1989
• J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1978
• A.B., with honors, Brown University, 1975