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Of Counsel at Kaplin Stewart, 910 Harvest Drive, Blue Bell, PA 19422. From 1965 to 1975, I was an Associate and then a Partner at Kahn, Bushman, formerly Winokur & Kahn in Philadelphia. From 1975 to 1990, I was a Partner at Korn, Kline and Kutner, a Philadelphia based law firm. From 1990 to 2000, I was a Partner at Korn & Cohn in Plymouth Meeting, PA. That firm merged with Kaplin Stewart in 2000. I remained a Partner at that firm until January 2012. I attended the University of Pennsylvania and received my undergraduate and law degrees from Temple University. I have been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1970 and serve on its Large, Complex Case panel. I have mediated cases for more than 20 years. I am a member of the Panel of Master Mediators of the American Arbitration Association. I've received training from the American Arbitration Association and JAMS, and took a week long workshop at Harvard Law School conducted by Professor Sander. That program focused on mediation skills. I'm a Judge pro Tem for the Commerce Court of Philadelphia County and a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. I've been a Super Lawyer (Construction Law) since the inception of that award and recognized by Best Lawyers of America, receiving the Lawyer of the Year award for 2013.
I've been a mediator for more than 20 years. I have received extensive training as a mediator as set forth above. I actively mediate cases for the court system in Philadelphia, for the American Arbitration Association and am privately retained to mediate and arbitrate cases. I have mediated more than 100 cases. I achieve closure in more than 90% of the cases I mediate.
I usually adopt a facilitative style at the outset of the mediation. I invite the parties to make openings if they chose but tell the parties that the decision of whether to open is their choice. If I feel that an opening would be helpful I tell the party in advance of the mediation. I ask counsel to provide me with important documents before the mediation and to submit to me (and exchange) mediation statements. I tell counsel that they can send me information "for my eyes only". Before the start of the mediation and after I have reviewed submittal I call counsel to learn more about the case, prior settlement discussions, roadblocks to resolution, etc. If, during the course of the mediation, I sense that that counsel and clients are looking for a more evaluative approach I shift gears and become evaluative. I'm not bluntly evaluative but am able to communicate my views by phrasing my comments in a certain manner. To me the most important attribute of a mediator is to be a good listener. Let the process play out. In the context of a mediation, a mediator, to be successful, must be patient. I've achieved a high success rate as a mediator because I'm tenacious, and will only declare an impasse if I've exhausted all approaches to achieving closure. If a case does not settle at the formal mediation session, I continue in my efforts to achieve closure by calling and emailing parties and in some cases reconvening a formal mediation.
Construction Law, Real Estate, Title Insurance, Commercial, Corporate.
Currently $575.00 an hour. For arbitrations I charge $410.00 an hour including 50% of that rate for travel time.
College of Commercial Arbitrators, American Arbitration Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, ARD Committee, and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
John Greenhall, Esq. of Cohen Seglias, Roy S. Cohen, Esquire of Cohen Seglias and Christopher McCabe, Esq., of Jacoby Donner. I can provide additional references.
I mentioned above some of the training I have received. I comply with the yearly training requirement of the American Arbitration Association. In addition, I maintain a library of books (which I read) that focus on mediation and negotiation skills (Roger Fisher's books, by way of example).
I adhere to the Pennsylvania Code of Professional Responsibility. I make full and complete disclosures, consistent with the requirement of the American Arbitration Association. As an arbitrator I follow The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide of Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration. I also adhere to IMI Code of Professional Conduct.
IMI Professional Conduct Assessment Process.
I have malpractice coverage through the firm of Kaplin Stewart. Maximum coverage US$5,000.000.