Dispute Resolution Section & Labor and Employment Law Section Spring 2026 Meeting

The NYSBA’s Dispute Resolution Section & Labor and Employment Law Section Spring 2026 Meeting will take place on Friday, April 24 at the New York State Bar Association in Albany, NY. JAMS neutral Clifford D. Bloomfield, Esq. and JAMS National Senior Practice Development Manager, Shakiya Wright-McDuffie, will be amongst the featured speakers. You can find more information about their panels below:

“Dispute Resolution in the Age of Remote Work: Resolving Disputes Across Screens and Borders”
10:35am – 11:50am

Virtual Workplaces, Virtual Disputes - How ADR Adapts to the Changing World of Work. The rapid expansion of hybrid and remote workforces has created new categories of workplace disputes and reshaped how those disputes arise, escalate, and are resolved. This session examines both the substantive employment law issues and the practical dispute resolution challenges presented by digital and virtual workplaces, including the evolving legal obligations of employers, shifting employee expectations, changes in organizational culture, and the impact of technology on conflict and its resolution.

Moderator:
•    Shakiya Wright-McDuffie, JAMS

Speakers:
•    Amy Melican, Esq., Tapestry
•    Orin Kurtz, Esq., Law Office of Orin Kurtz P.C.
•    Krista Gottlieb, Esq., ADR Center & Law Office
•    William M. Conley, Esq., New York State Public Employment Relations Board

"Managing Mass Employment Arbitration: Perspectives from Arbitrators, Administrators, And Advocates"
2:15pm-3:30pm

This panel will explore the legal phenomenon of mass arbitration -- high volume individual case filings used by parties to by-pass class action waiver clauses. The panel will address the administration of large-scale employment mass arbitration filings, including institutional rules, fee structure and costs, process and merits arbitrators’ functions, bellwether and batching cases, mediation dual tracking and the future of mass arbitration.

Speakers:
•    Clifford D. Bloomfield, Esq., JAMS
•    Loretta Gastwirth, Esq., Independent Arbitrator and Mediator
•    Ann Lesser, Esq., American Arbitration Association
•    Matthew Levington, JAMS
•    Shannon Liss-Riordan, Esq., Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.
•    Jennifer Lupo, Esq., Lupo Dispute Resolution Services PLLC