Publications

For many years, the courts have discussed the issues which arise when a sponsor/holder of unsold shares (hereafter, "sponsor") in a cooperative apartment corporation seeks to vote its shares at elections for the board of directors after the statutory period of permitted sponsor control has expired. Justice Ellen J. Coin, rec...

During the course of the private breakout sessions with the parties, the mediator is able to engage in a more candid discussion with counsel with respect to their case and their belief as to its strengths/weaknesses, and how they will likely address the opposing party's case at the time of trial. It also gives the parties th...

Recognizing the unquestionable value of mediating commercial disputes, the New York Supreme Court, New York County, launched a pilot project by which certain cases assigned to the Commercial Division are automatically referred to mandatory mediation. Because it has been just a short while since the pilot project became effec...

As issues concerning Electronically Stored Information ("ESI") and E-Discovery are becoming more prevalent and increasingly complex, litigants are beginning to hear phrases such as "E-Mediation" or "ESI Mediation." Mediating E-Discovery issues allows litigants to control what is being requested, what is being produced, and h...

I have been privileged, on two separate occasions, to be retained as a legal consultant for a program sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program was designed to assist local authorities in strengthening the legal system in the Republic of Macedonia. In that capacity, I provided i...

Many attorneys are familiar with the old adage, "Cases which get prepared for trial settle and cases which are prepared for settlement get tried." On this spectrum, Mediations should be viewed as much more akin to a trial with "preparation, preparation, preparation" being the mantra chanted. Mediations provide that moment in...

During the course of negotiations, it is very common for one or more of the parties to ask a Mediator, "So, what do you think the case is worth?" This Mediator has a consistent response to that often-heard inquiry, "The case is worth what it settles for." Although that response may, at first, seem a bit glib, the inquiring p...

The submission of a well-crafted brief prior to the mediation is an excellent opportunity to give the mediator a real preview of your position in advance. It can be used to educate, persuade, and create a roadmap for settlement negotiations. It is to your benefit to submit same as it will save time at the mediation and creat...

BACK TO BASIC: IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED By: Hon. John P. DiBlasi, J.S.C. (Ret.) & Jacqueline I. Silvey, Esq., NAM General Counsel /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/diblasi.png John Wooden, one of the most successful coaches in basketball history, always focused his teams on the basics. The first lesson he ...

During the last month, John W. McConnell, Counsel, to Chief Administrative Judge Gail Prudenti, set forth five proposed changes to how the Commercial Division operates - both substantively and procedurally. Many of these changes were first floated to the public in the Report to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman by his Task Force ...