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Commercial Arbitration Spring Conference 2022

Commercial Arbitration Spring Conference 2022

Presented by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)

CLE Conference Diversity Reception Webinar Credit: 7.0 New York CLE Credits (Including 1.5 Skills credits, 4.0 Professional Practice credits, and 1.5 Ethics and Professionalism credits)

Contemporary Arbitration and Mediation – How We Can Do Better

This annual Fordham/State Bar conference on ADR is intended for practicing arbitrators and mediators and for ADR advocates. Speakers will include leading ADR practitioners and ranking representatives of major ADR providers, as well as academics specializing in the area.

The focus of this virtual conference is to take a fresh look at ways we can all improve our practices as arbitrators, mediators, counsel, and providers. This includes a panel on New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's bold initiative for presumptive mediation in civil cases in the New York court system and discussions of how we can harness our ADR skills to help address some of the huge problems facing the country today.

Program Sponsoring Committees
Dispute Resolution Section
Commercial & Federal Litigation Section
Corporate Counsel Section
Committee On Continuing Legal Education
50+ Section

Program Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 AM | Registration

9:00 - 9:15 AM | Welcome and Introductions

  • Prof. John D. Feerick | Dean Emeritus, Fordham Law School
  • Charles J. Moxley, Jr. | Program Co-Chair
  • Jeffrey T. Zaino | Program Co-Chair

9:15 - 10:30 AM | Advice by Major Arbitration Providers to Neutrals and Counsel as to How We Can Do Better
Moderator:
Jeffrey T. Zaino | American Arbitration Association

Speakers:

  • Richard Berry | FINRA Office of Dispute Resolution
  • Mark Krasula | Director, Arbitration and ADR, North America, International Court of Arbitration
  • Mia Levi | CPR: International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution
  • Michelle Skipper | AAA-ICDR
  • Matthew York | JAMS

10:40 - 11:55 AM | Arbitrator and Counsel Perspectives: Major Things We Can Do Better
Moderator:
Charles J. Moxley, Jr. | MoxleyADR

Speakers:

  • Frances E. Bivens | Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell
  • William H. Crosby, Jr. | Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Interpublic Group
  • Noah J. Hanft | AcumenADR
  • Betsy A. Hellmann | Counsel, Skadden Arps
  • Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin (Ret.) | Counsel, Stroock

11:55 AM - 12:40 PM | Lunch


12:40 - 1:15 PM | Keynote Address | Opportunity and Obligation – Engagement by Neutrals in Addressing Serious Public Issues
Prof. John D. Feerick | Dean Emeritus, Fordham Law School


1:15 - 2:15 PM | ADR Professionals as Problem Solvers and Facilitators
Moderator:
Linda Gerstel | Independent Arbitrator and Mediator, GerstelADR PLLC; Adjunct Professor on ADR, Fordham Law

Speakers:

  • Lisa Blomgren Amsler, J.D. | Distinguished Professor, Keller-Runden Professor, Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
  • Courtney Breese | Executive Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
  • Dan Kos | Assistant Statewide ADR Coordinator, Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs, Community Dispute Resolution Centers, New York State Unified Court System (NYSUCS)
  • Denise Shaw, Esq. | Independent Arbitrator and Mediator, The Shaw Group
  • Carl Smallwood, Esq. | Executive Director, Divided Community Project, Moritz College of Law
  • Maria R. Volpe, Ph.D. | Professor, Department of Sociology, CUNY; Coordinator, Dispute Resolution Program Director, CUNY Dispute Resolution Center

2:25 - 3:45 PM | Chief Judge’s Presumptive Mediation Initiative – Steps Forward
Moderator:
Daniel F. Kolb | Senior Counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell

Speakers:

  • Lisa M. Courtney | Statewide ADR Coordinator, NYSUCS
  • Hon. Adam Silvera | Administrative Judge, Supreme Court-Civil Branch
  • John S. Kiernan, Esq. | Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
  • Hon. Norman St. George, J.S.C. | Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Courts Outside New York City, NYSUCS

3:45 - 5:00 PM | ADR Ethics and Inclusion – How We Can Do Better
Moderator:
Jacqueline Nolan-Haley | Professor, Fordham Law School

Speakers:

  • Theo Cheng | Arbitrator and Mediator
  • Linda Gerstel | Independent Arbitrator and Mediator
  • Mansi Karol | Director of ADR Services, AAA
  • Alfreida Kenny | Arbitrator and Mediator
  • Paul Radvany | Clinical Professor of Law, Fordham Law School
  • Rekha Rangachari | New York International Arbitration Center

5:00 - 6:00 PM | Virtual Networking Reception

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