Conna A. Weiner, Esq., FCIArb brings to her U.S. and international mediation and arbitration practice a unique combination of litigation, transactional and in-house experience after roles with internationally known outside counsel and multinational life sciences (pharmaceuticals, medical device, diagnostics, vaccines and other therapeutics) and health care companies. She has extensive experience mediating and arbitrating (in-person and virtually) complex general commercial cases in the U.S. and internationally, as well as franchise and employment matters, and serves as a sole arbitrator, neutral party-appointed arbitrator on three member panels and as the chair of arbitration tribunals with many of the major ADR providers. Her experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and other therapeutics industries is particularly unique and sought after in connection with dispute resolution clause requirements requiring therapeutics or related industry experience.
Although she has decades of experience in general commercial and employment matters representing both plaintiffs and defendants and is noted for her ability to help parties assess their positions before and after litigations or arbitrations are filed, Ms. Weiner’s extensive transactional and deal work over the years help her rapidly appreciate the core issues involved in business arbitrations and mediations and creatively assist parties in structuring an appropriate arbitration process or working out negotiated business solutions that help preserve relationships. Her inside counsel experience helps her understand and communicate with clients and maintain an objective perspective in connection with a wide variety of matters.
Ms. Weiner has special expertise in the full range of unique, complex legal issues and contractual arrangements prevalent in life sciences (such as intellectual property, licensing and acquisitions, supply agreements and the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics), health care (both payors and providers) and other technology arenas. She is a Fellow in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and holds a number of leadership positions in legal and dispute resolution organizations.
Details of her experience are set forth below.
Representative Matters
Ms. Weiner’s practice is split fairly evenly between arbitration and mediation, and she has gained extensive experience hosting both types of matters remotely (primarily on the Zoom platform.) The list below is not all-inclusive; note that Ms. Weiner’s counseling/legal experience (discussed below) is significantly broader than the issues covered to date by her ADR practice:
Representative Life Sciences matters (pharmaceutical, device, diagnostics, vaccines), such as research, development, commercialization, manufacturing and intellectual property:
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator in ICC arbitration concerning early stage strategic research, development and commercialization of immuno-therapy drugs, including licensing obligations
- Ad hoc, issues-based baseball arbitration involving dispute between synthetic biology investment fund and fund investors revolving around representations concerning likelihood of success regarding complex technologies
- UNCITRAL ad hoc international arbitration between US pharmaceutical company and third party-distributor
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator in dispute over inventorship and other patent issues and allegations of misappropriation of confidential information.
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator regarding dispute over diagnostics joint development agreement
- Successful fast-track, multiple session Zoom mediation resolving issues between founding stockholders of a diagnostic company (Delaware incorporated) prior to company acquisition
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in international arbitration regarding dispute over long-term supply and distribution agreements regarding blood plasma products between two pharmaceutical companies
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in international arbitration regarding dispute over earnout provisions of an acquisition agreement between two pharmaceutical companies requiring use of commercially reasonable efforts to achieve milestones targeted to increases in sales of a basket of acquired products
- Sole arbitrator in connection with university hospital – pharmaceutical company dispute over scope of permissible scope of patents sublicensing rights and appropriate royalty rate
- Sole arbitrator in connection with biological materials storage agreement dispute
- Sole arbitrator in dispute over valuation of private shares in biotechnology company
- Successful fast-track, multiple session Zoom mediation resolving issues between founding stockholders of a diagnostic company (Delaware incorporated) prior to company acquisition
- International deal mediation involving mediator assistance with negotiation of patent license terms (royalties, etc.) resulting from patent litigation settlement
- International mediation regarding disputes between global diagnostics company and privately held diagnostics development company related to diagnostics research, development and commercialization agreement, including allegations of failure to use commercially reasonable efforts to both develop and commercialize diagnostics products in context of significant long-term collaboration
- International, multiple-party mediation of dispute amongst inventors, start-up company and research institution relating to inventorship, patent and commercialization rights and responsibilities with respect to psychiatric pharmaceutical product
- Mediation of research university and pharmaceutical company licensee dispute regarding university’s entitlement to sublicensing income from pharmaceutical company sublicense to large pharmaceutical company
- Mediation of university-based vaccines supplier dispute with pharmaceutical company over effects of termination of long term supply agreement in connection with flu vaccines
- Mediation of patient/subject injury claims in context of clinical trial; disputes over informed consent, foreseeability of claimed injury, causation, damages
- International mediation of dispute over sale of products to pharmaceutical company and failures to achieve sales and revenue targets
- Mediation involving university clinical trial compliance and data issues
- Mediation regarding gene therapy research foundation contribution to academic medical center research which resulted in down-stream licensing deal
- Mediation involving distribution and sales agency rights and obligations in connection with diagnostics products
Representative Health Care Matters (such as managed care, payor-provider, physician practice issues)
Ms. Weiner has applied her years of substantive, hands-on experience to help parties in connection with a wide range of ADR matters. Representative of her active ADR practice are the following:
- Chair of tripartite arbitration panel assessing out-of-network emergency room reimbursement dispute between health plan and hospital system provider involving thousands of claims; ad hoc
- Sole arbitrator of significant dispute between health plan and its pharmacy benefit manager regarding appropriate basis for determining rebate payments due health plan after adjustments for modified AWP calculations.
- Sole arbitrator in connection with payor-provider dispute centering around appropriate reimbursement of bundled incidental charges
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator in connection with payor-provider dispute over reimbursement of thousands of out-of-network claims
- Emergency arbitrator appointed to assess applications for emergency relief in connection with termination of health providers from health plan
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in hospital/physician compensation dispute (complicated by potential Stark Law issues)
- Chair of tripartite panel in physician partnership dispute involving allegations of failure adequately to compensate departing/retiring disabled partner
- Sole arbitrator payor-provider coverage dispute regarding appropriate level of reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment of potential suicide risk patient
- Sole arbitrator in connection with ambulance services and managed care provider reimbursement dispute
- Mediation of dispute involving SaaS for health care claims administration software and customer over software data migration and implementation issues
- Mediation of dispute regarding sourcing of KN95 face masks under FDA Emergency Use Authorizations for hospital use
- Mediator in connection with termination of medical supplies agreement by hospital chain in connection with acquisition by chain of community hospitals
- Mediation of university-based vaccines supplier dispute with pharmaceutical company over effects of termination of long term supply agreement
- Mediation of pharmaceutical company false advertising/trade defamation federal litigation involving cross claims with respect to accuracy of respective ad campaigns
- Mediation of complex dispute between health system and therapeutic hardware/software supplier in connection with long term collaboration on cancer radiology therapy and associated software
Representative Employment matters
- Sole arbitrator in connection with workplace retaliation claims for reporting safety violations
- Sole arbitrator in hostile work environment and retaliation matter involving employee allegations of widespread harassing and male-dominated culture at company resulting in discrimination and a conspiracy among management employees to retaliate against female employees; assessment of extent of permissible me-too discovery in connection with same.
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in dispute over denial of severance benefits under an ERISA plan in connection with change of control
- Sole arbitrator in connection with FLSA, discrimination and retaliation claims brought by terminated employee
- Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in connection with breach of partnership agreement and fiduciary duty by law firm partner
- Sole arbitrator in connection with age discrimination claims in connection with reduction in force at community hospital associated with acquisition of community hospital by national hospital organization
- Charges of defamation on social media and other platforms
International and Domestic Franchise Arbitrations
Ms. Weiner has extensive international and U.S. experience as a sole arbitrator in franchise termination arbitrations, having arbitrated over 50 cases involving a number of different franchisors, including food service and hair salons
Attorney-Client Disputes
Ms. Weiner has arbitrated a number of disputes between attorneys and their clients, including fee and malpractice disputes, including as chair of tribunals.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
Ms. Weiner began her career as a general commercial litigator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She then moved on to leadership roles in-house with multinational firms such as Novartis, where, in addition to all of the work required of an in-house corporate generalist, she gained hands-on experience in the full range of unique legal issues facing life sciences and healthcare companies, including every phase of discovery, research, development and commercialization. She has worked for branded and generic, human and animal pharmaceutical, vaccine and device manufacturers and has collaborated extensively with their business partners, including providers (such as hospitals, physicians, academic medical centers and universities), payors (such as health plans/insurers and managed care entities), contract manufacturers and suppliers, software companies, clinical research organizations and state and federal governmental entities.
Her transactional, counseling and litigation experience includes:
