White Plains, New York

Mediator, Collaborative Attorney, Parenting Coordinator

Owner of Law and ADR Office of Adam J. Halper PLLC, 2019-Present; <br/>Director of Legal Services, The Legal Wellness Institute at The Family Center, 2006-2019; <br/>Staff Attorney, Legal Services-NYC, 2000-2006.

Works with individuals, attorneys, and businesses to help them resolve all manner of pre, active and post-litigation disputes and civil matters. Represented clients in a variety of litigation and transactional areas including matrimonial/family law, trusts and estates and administrative law and brings strong business, legal and interpersonal acumen to client issues and conflicts. Currently, in addition to private practice, mediates for the American Arbitration Association and for several commercial, matrimonial and civil litigation panels in State Courts and Federal Courts. Currently, mediates civil cases in the areas of employment, commercial , matrimonial, family, trusts and estates, and tort/personal injury law. Represents, advises and serves as reviewing counsel for clients on a broad array of issues including family and matrimonial law. Serves as collaborative attorney in matrimonial law cases. Acts as parenting coordinator for high conflict divorcing/separating spouses with children. <br/><br/>Began career representing domestic violence survivors at Legal Services-NYC, the nation’s largest public interest law firm. Prior to opening a private practice was the Director of the Legal Wellness Institute at The Family Center, a unique multidisciplinary organization that serves individuals and families affected by severe illness. There, led a team of attorneys paralegals, law students and pro bono volunteers in the representation of thousands of New Yorkers. Teaches, coaches, lectures and has written extensively about work with vulnerable populations, access to justice and mediation.

As a mediator, private practice is focused on the following areas: employment, wage/hour, commercial, matrimonial/family and general civil litigation matters. Served as a mediator on over 200 matters. Representative clients have included hotels, restaurants, fast-food chains, doctors and medical practices, hospitals, construction companies, non-profit organizations, schools, banks and high net worth individuals. In addition to private practice, serves on the panel of mediators at the following courts:<br/><br/>US District Court for the Southern/Eastern District of New York; <br/>Westchester County Supreme Court, Commercial/Matrimonial Division;<br/>Bronx County Supreme Court, Civil/Matrimonial Division;<br/>Bronx County Surrogate’s Court/Civil Division;<br/>Queens County Supreme Court, Matrimonial Division; <br/>New York County Supreme Court, Matrimonial Division; <br/>Richmond County Matrimonial and Civil Divisions;<br/>Roster of Neutrals for New York State's 3rd and 4th Judicial Districts.<br/><br/>Numerous multi-party mediations in the areas of commercial and general civil litigation matters, tort/personal injury and employment law for cases that included multiple plaintiffs, defendants, business partners and insurance carriers. Multi-party mediations require attention not only as to the discrete sides of a dispute but attention also as to the dynamics of the individual players on each side. Successfully mediated multi-party disputes where no one liked, trusted or had given each other more than a passing thought, in years, but for the current litigation.

Business Divorce<br/>Civil Rights, 1983 Actions<br/>Contract<br/>Defamation<br/>Discrimination<br/>Divorce (Matrimonial)<br/>Elder Law<br/>Employment<br/>Family Business<br/>Family Law<br/>Insurance<br/>Partnerships<br/>Personal Injury<br/>Sexual Harassment<br/>Retaliation<br/>Tort<br/>Trust and Estates<br/>Trade Secrets<br/>Wage/Hour (FLSA/NYLL)<br/>Wrongful Death<br/><br/>Including:<br/>Gender discrimination, retaliation at asset management, financial services company. <br/>Multi-party, FLSA/NYLL wage and hour claims brought on behalf of building superintendents and workers against large, real estate management company.<br/>Multiple family member trust and estates dispute including contested probate and contested fiduciary issues. Estate assets included commercial property, residential property, significant tangible property and cash.

My career has been dedicated to advising people who are at the intersection of personal and professional crises and the law. Whether it is a matrimonial/family mediation or a multi-party business/employment dispute, there are common elements to a successful mediation. Mediation is a self-determined process and works best when parties understand and feel this throughout the mediation - from the first phone call to agreement drafting. It is the work of the mediator to facilitate that process; to never give up unless all sides have exhausted their settlement options; and to help parties create forward movement, progress and solutions. Mediating a dispute for parties engaged in litigation (or contemplating it) is a privilege, regardless of the amount in controversy or the sophistication of those at the table. <br/><br/>As an attorney, I understand how challenging mediation can be for parties and for advocates. When looking for a neutral you want a mediator who is knowledgeable as to substance and as to process. You want a neutral who is creative, evaluative; a problem solver; someone who can move the process forward; help narrow the issues and - more than anything else - someone who can assist you and your client to explore every possible avenue to resolution. I will structure the mediation process in a manner that best serves the clients. Typically, I begin with an all-attorney phone call or Zoom to discuss scheduling, party attendance, information exchange and pre-mediation submissions. Post submissions, I will contact each side privately to discuss important case points (strong and weak). Those calls may include parties if available and the calls help to prepare everyone for the day of. On mediation day, for commercial and general civil litigation matters, I generally meet with parties in caucus. I conduct joint sessions where there is agreement that it is both necessary and it will be productive to have them. Late in the day, I have successfully utilized all manner of impasse breaking techniques including brackets, simultaneous steps, attorney or party-only joint sessions, time-restricted caucus rounds and mediator's proposal. <br/><br/>I have successfully guided well-resourced clients (and their attorneys) through complex decisions to arrive at a resolution number that represented innumerable, difficult choices about their businesses, livelihoods, property, employment and financial futures. Similarly, I have guided separating/divorcing spouses to resolution where agreement touched every facet of their lives and for which there was no range/bracket/or midpoint in connection to their children or their new lives. As a mediator, I am a tireless advocate for attorneys, for clients and for the mediation process.

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (JD-1997); New York University (BA-1994).

Admitted to the Bar: New York (2000); US District Court: Southern/Eastern Districts of New York (2002); US Court of Appeals: 2nd Circuit (2002); US Supreme Court (2002)

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts<br/>Co-Chair, Westchester County Bar Association, ADR Committee<br/>New York State Bar Association, Mediation Committee, (Past Co-Chair) <br/>Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York<br/>New York Association for Collaborative Professionals<br/>Federal Bar Council<br/>Louis D. Brandeis Law Society<br/>New York State Council on Divorce Mediation<br/>​New York City Bar Association, ADR Committee (Past)<br/>Mediation Advisory Committee, SDNY (Past)

Selected Publications and Speaking Engagements:<br/> <br/>Mentor: Law Student Mediation Clinic, Brooklyn Law School, Spring Semester, 2023. <br/>Coach for Mediators/Trainees: New York State Bar Association, Advanced Commercial Mediation Training, April, November, 2022.<br/>Spotlight, Westchester Lawyer Magazine, April 2022. <br/>Presenter, The Habits of Highly Effective Dispute Resolvers, New York State Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section Event, December 2021.<br/>Co-Author, Co-Author, The Hard Peace: Mediation in New York’s Med-NJ Program By Michele Kern-Rappy and Adam J. Halper, New York Law Journal, November 22nd, 2021. <br/>Presenter, Changing Lanes: Mediating Outside the Comfort Zone, New York State Bar Association, <br/>Dispute Resolution Section, Mediation Committee, October 18th, 2021.<br/>Co-Author, The Hard Question: When to Bring Evaluation into the Mediation, ABA, <br/>Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, with Bart Eagle, August, 2021.<br/>Coach for Mediator/Trainees, NYSBA Commercial Mediation Training, March, 2021.<br/>Author, Make Online Mediation Work for You and Your Clients, Westchester Bar Association Journal, November 2020, with Donna Erez Navot.<br/>Co-Author, When the Numbers Are Not So High; Justice Nigh -- Seeking Justice from an Imperfect Justice System, NYSBA Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Summer, 2020, with Bart Eagle.<br/>Facilitator, How Do You Start When They Are Too Far Apart, SDNY Mediation Training, August 11th, September 24th, 2020.<br/>Coach for mediator/trainees, Westchester County Surrogate’s Court, Mediation Training, New York Judicial Insitute, September 26th and 27th, 2019. <br/>Speaker, SDNY Mediation Program, Edson Queiroz Foundation Mediation Program - A unique joint program between Columbia Law School and Brazil’s Universidade de Fortaleza, August 19, 2019. <br/>Speaker, Mediating Cases Under FLSA/NYLL, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, November 15th, 2018.<br/>Speaker, Mediation Choices for Effective Representation and Advocacy, New York Law School, October 29th 2018.<br/>Co-Author, The Crucial Prologue: Telling Your Story in the Pre-Mediation Statement, NYSBA Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Fall 2018, with Bart Eagle.<br/>Speaker, Advantages of Mediation in Resolving Wills, Trusts, Estates and Adult Guardianship Matters, Westchester County Bar Association, June, 2018.<br/>Moderator/Speaker, The Litigative DNA, Fordham Law School, May 9th, 2018.<br/>Speaker, How Mediation Skills Enhance Litigation Skills, Judicial Institute, OATH, April 10th, 2018.<br/>Speaker, The SDNY Mediation Program, Quinn Emmanuel, LLP, March 5, 2018.<br/>Speaker, The Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, February 1st 2018.<br/>Co-Author, Side-Bar Learning: Lawyering teaches you how to live well, ABA Before the Bar, with Caroline Oppenheim, December, 2017.<br/>Co-Author, How Mediation Changed Me as a Lawyer, York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Lawyer, with Caroline Oppenheim, October, 2017.<br/>Co-Author, See You in H*ll: Preparing for Mediation, Mediate.com, with Lauren Groetch, February 6th, 2017.<br/>Co-Author, Forty Seven Million Clients: Every Lawyer’s Dream, Law 360, May, 2015, With Caroline Bersak. <br/><br/>

Based in Southern Westchester with offices in White Plains and New York City. Available to mediate virtually, anywhere.

English

United States of America

White Plains, NY

The AAA’s Rules provide the AAA with the authority to administer a mediation including, mediator appointment, general oversight and billing. Accordingly, mediations that proceed without AAA administration are not considered AAA mediations, even when the parties select an mediator who is on the AAA’s Roster.
The information contained in this resume has been supplied solely by the individual mediator and may, or may not, be a complete recitation of their experience. The AAA assumes no responsibility for the content, completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in a mediator’s resume. If you have any questions about a mediator’s experience or background, you are encouraged to contact your case manager.
Mediators on the AAA Roster are not employees or agents of the AAA.