Biography
Jed D. Melnick, Esq. has been involved in the mediation and successful resolution of hundreds of complex international disputes with an aggregate value in the billions of dollars. He has mediated over one thousand disputes, published articles on mediation, founded a nationally ranked dispute resolution journal, and taught young mediators. Mr. Melnick handles a wide variety of cases, however, has significant experience in complex financial cases including derivatives and major bankruptcies. He often works alongside the Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.), one of the nation's preeminent mediators of complex civil disputes, to handle the largest and most complex international cases.
In 2010, 2011, and 2012, Mr. Melnick was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers "Rising Star," the only "Rising Star" in the Alternative Dispute Resolution category in Pennsylvania. He was also selected to the 2010 list of Pennsylvania "Lawyers on the Fast Track," a recognition given to 30 Pennsylvania Lawyers under the age of 40 by Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly.
In 2010, 2011, and 2012, Mr. Melnick was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers "Rising Star," the only "Rising Star" in the Alternative Dispute Resolution category in Pennsylvania. He was also selected to the 2010 list of Pennsylvania "Lawyers on the Fast Track," a recognition given to 30 Pennsylvania Lawyers under the age of 40 by Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Mr. Melnick mediates cases with aggregate values of billions of dollars annually and works to design innovative processes tailored to unique, complex, and highly sensitive cases
- Leading settlement efforts and working closely with Alabama District Court Judge Scott Coogler in a three-day mediation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in MBUSI v. Cobasys
- Part of team that settled Adelphia Communications Corp. v. Deloitte & Touche LLP, pending in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
- Part of team that settled numerous securities actions arising out of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy including the Class Action against former Directors and Officers of Lehman, the Underwriters, and numerous individual securities and ARS related matters
- Part of team that settled numerous securities actions arising out of the Adelphia bankruptcy including the Class Action and numerous related actions against the former Directors and Officers, Underwriters, as well as Adelphia's former law firm and auditor
- Successfully mediated creditor claims against the former chairman of a major international law firm alleging mismanagement leading to the firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Representative International Matters
- Chinese Securities Litigation
- In Re: HQ Sustainable Maritime Indus., Inc. Securities and Derivative Litigation
- In Re: China Medicine Securities Litigation
- China Green Derivative Litigation
- Murdeshwar v. SearchMedia Holdings Limited, f/k/a Ideation Acquisition Corp, et al.
- Contract Disputes: including Exelon Generation Company, LLC v. General Atomic Technologies Corp., Sunoco, Inc. v. Epsilon, and matters involving GM and Mercedes Benz
- Coverage Litigation: including In Re: UnumProvident Corp., Aon, SCOR, American Business Financial Systems, Inc.
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- In Re: El Paso (Kinder Morgan acquisition) Corporation Shareholder Litigation
- Securities Class Actions: involving Adelphia, Enron, Lehman Brothers Directors, and other major NYSE and NASDAQ corporations including:
- In Re: Sadia S.A. Securities Litigation
- In Re: Tronox, Inc. Securities Litigation
- Shapiro v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.
- In Re: Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Securities Litigation
- In Re: SCOR Holding AG Securities Litigation
- In Re: Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Securities Litigation
- Other Matters
- Mediated a dispute related to investments in the US sub-prime market involving various insurance carriers (from the US, UK, Belgium, and Netherlands) and a Belgium holding company.
- Settled a class action, involving insurance coverage issues, related to a reverse merger case of a China based entertainment kiosk company.
- Settled various proceedings in the Bankruptcy case of a China based pharmaceutical holding company.
- Settled a class action, involving insurance coverage issues, related to a reverse merger case of a China based online retail company. The insurance carriers in this dispute included US and China based insurers.
- Settled a contract dispute related to breaches of certain representations of intellectual property rights in a Purchase Agreement between a US affiliate of a Japanese company and a US company.
- Settled a class action, involving insurance coverage issues, related to a reverse merger case of a China based environmental resource management company.
- ADR Champion (2016) - One in 48 professionals selected by The National Law Journal to their inaugural list of Champions, “in honor of their passion, perseverance, and success in alternative dispute resolution.”
- Trauma Informed Certified by the National Center for Equity & Agency
- Jed D. Melnick Annual Symposium of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution – The Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution named its annual symposium the “Jed D. Melnick Annual Symposium of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution”
- Pennsylvania Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2010-2012) – Honored by Law & Politics Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine, Jed was the only recipient in the Alternative Dispute Resolution category in the state
- Lawyer on the Fast Track (2010) – Recognized among 30 Pennsylvania lawyers under the age of 40 by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly
- Philadelphia Common Pleas Appellate Mediation Program – Former Special Master/Judge Pro-Tem
- Extensive bench and jury trial experience in the Major Trials Unit at the Defenders Association of Philadelphia and civil litigation experience in both state and federal court.
Presentations
Jed is frequently invited to speak on panels and give presentations related to the mediation of complex commercial litigation. A selection of his speaking engagements are as follows:- Closing Panelist, “Mediation Strategies for Judges” presented at the 2017 Delaware Judicial Retreat, November 2017 (Delaware)
- Keynote Speaker, CLE Ethics Presentation at Kaufman, Borgeest & Ryan LLP, June 2017 (New York)
- Presenter, PLUS Webinar: The Nuts and Bolts of Mediating Complex D&O Claims, May 23, 2017
- Presenter, CLE Presentation on Mediation (presented to a major insurance company), January 2017 (New York)
- Panelist, “Let Us Mediate to Resolve Our Dispute,” May 2017 (St. Lucia)
- Panelist [co-presenter with Judge Layn Phillips (Ret.)], “Latham & Watkins: Mediation Advocacy Training Program,” April 2017 (Los Angeles)
- Panelist, “Rubenstein-Walsh CLE Seminar,” February 2017 (Delaware)
- Panelist at the PLAN Regional Meeting, “D&O Marketplace ‘Mediation Strategies,” June 2016 (New York)
- Panelist, “Current Issues in D&O Liability & Insurance 2016,” May 2016 (New York)
- Speaker, PLI’s Bridge-the-Gap II for Newly Admitted New York Attorneys 2015, “Negotiation-Best Practices,” August 2015 (New York)
- Panelist, 2015 ACCEC Panel, “Successfully Resolving Cases: Mediation and London Arbitration Tips from the Experts,” May 2015 (Chicago)
- Panelist, 2015 CLM Bermuda Chapter Educational Event, March 2015 (Bermuda)
- Panelist, 2015 PLUS D&O Symposium, “The Post-Halliburton World: Securities Class Action Update,” February 2015 (New York)
- Panelist, Webinar hosted by Advisen – Insurance Intelligence, “Advisen Webinar: Quarterly D&O Claims Trends: Q3 2014,” October 2014 (New York)
- Speaker, American Conference Institute, D&O Liability, Mediation and Settlement Negotiation of D&O Claims, “Attaining a Favorable Result for Your Client or Company,” October 2013 (New York)
- Speaker, Wiley Rein Professional Liability Insurance Seminar, “Mediator’s Perspective on The Role of Insurance in Mediation,” October 2013 (New York)
- Speaker, “Mediating Complex Disputes with Increasingly Sophisticated Parties,” September 2012 (Philadelphia)
- Speaker, “Mediating Complex Disputes with Increasingly Sophisticated Parties,” CLM Annual National Conference, March 2012 (San Diego)
- Speaker, “The Role of Mediation and Insurance in Bet the Company Litigation,” February 2012 (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York)
- Speaker, “Developments in Securities Class Actions and Derivative Litigation,” January 2012 (Bermuda)
Publications
- Author, "Video Conferencing and Mediating Complex Disputes in the New Normal: Settlements Don’t Need to Wait," New York Law Journal, March 2020
- Author, “Go Work Your Magic,” American Bar Association, Fall 2017
- Author, “Lost Opportunities in Mediation," Westlaw Journal Securities Litigation & Regulation, Vol 19, Issue 4, June 2013
- Author, Editor and Moderator, “The Role of Mediation and Insurance in Bet the Company Litigation,” Cardozo J. Conflict Resol., Vol 14.2, 2013
- Contributed to “A Time to Cut Costs,” by Gregory A. Markel, Chairman of the Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft Litigation Department, article found on Lawdragon.com, January 2012
- Co-Author with John Wilkinson, Vivien Shelanski, and Robin Gise, “Mediation Starts from the First Phone Call: Practice Points and Helpful Hints for Lawyers Going to Mediation,” Cardozo J. Conflict Resol., Vol 11, Number 2, 2010
- Author, Substantive Introduction to “The Mediation of Securities Class Action Suits, A Panel Discussion Hosted by the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law,” Cardozo J. Conflict Resol., Vol. 9, Number 2, Spring 2008
- Co-Author with Judge Weinstein and Michael Young, “The Role of Damages Issues – Post-Dura – in the Mediation of Securities Class Actions,” Mealey’s Emerging Securities Litigation, Vol. 6, #3, September 2007
- J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 1999
- B.A., Grinnell College, 1994
- While in law school, Jed founded the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution and was part of the team from the Center for Court Innovation that founded and built the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center in Brooklyn. In part, the initiative aimed to address conflicts between the Orthodox Jewish community and the Caribbean and African-American communities after the Crown Heights riots.
Counsel Comments
- "At the outset, I just wanted to thank you for the absolutely superb job and the herculean effort that you brought to this mediation. In 36 years of practice, this was the most difficult mediation I ever encountered and I thought you handled it to perfection. Thank you so very much again."
- Counsel - "Words cannot express my deep admiration and thanks for your extraordinary skills, patience, perseverance and general abilities to bring parties together...it has been my extraordinary privilege to work with you and follow your lead..."
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