Areas of Practice

Arbitration & Mediation

Breakups: business and professional
      Fiduciary obligations
      Lateral lawyer acquisitions
      and departures

Commercial litigation
      Breach of contract
      Business torts
      Fraud

Employment law
      Employment discrimination
      Hiring and termination

Legal ethics: professional
responsibility

Women's rights
      Equal pay
      Sexual harassment

Areas of Practice> Arbitration and Mediation

Arbitration and mediation are responsive to parties’ needs.
Arbitration and mediation offer more flexible, less destructive, often less expensive methods for resolving disputes that traditionally might be settled through litigation. Typically, more flexible solutions are available than in a courtroom, and the issues are decided in private. Both sides in an argument have their say in structuring the process, can raise the issues and problems that interest them, and work together to find a “win-win” solution, often impossible in the court system.

• Arbitration is a creature of contract, and as such, can be structured to specify almost any format, procedure and time limits the contracting parties feel is reasonable. It can be a more expedited and less expensive alternative to litigation, but like litigation, the decision is final and binding on the parties.
• Mediation is the process in which parties engage a neutral third person to work with them to facilitate resolution of the dispute. It is more flexible than either arbitration or litigation. It encourages the parties to design their own approach to the mediation process. The mediator’s role is to help them resolve the issue by unraveling the strands underlying the conflict, facilitating one-on-one or joint meetings with the parties, and develop an agreed-upon result. Mediation is typically quicker, less expensive, less adversarial and less stressful than the alternatives.

Geri has extensive experience in these dispute resolution venues.
Geri has participated as an advocate in numerous arbitrations and mediations conducted through AAA, JAMS, NASD, Commercial Division Program, State Bar Fee Division Program, New York City Bar Association and as a private appointed arbitrator and mediator. The issues involved in the disputes included breach of contract, business torts, partnership, employment termination, employment discrimination and harassment, defamation, law firm and other partnership or business break-ups.

Representative cases
These cases are settled privately.

A more complete discussion of these topics is presented in “Resolving Disputes among Small Business Owners: Assessing the Benefits of Mediation and Arbitration as Opposed to Litigation.”

Abraham Lincoln said it best.
“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, and expenses, and waste of time.”