Selected Activities

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December 2009

• Edna chairs an 8 day hearing of a dispute between partners arising from a failed real estate development project and is selected to arbitrate claims relating to the continued use of a trade name by a partner after the dissolution of the partnership and a claim alleging a failure to pay for finished steel.

• Edna conducts the two day Arbitration Fundamentals and Best Practices Program for arbitrators newly accepted to serve on American Arbitration Association’s panels in locales around the country.

November 2009

• Edna mediates a claim for reimbursement for defective airplane engine parts and is selected to mediate ­­­­­ a Brazil/U.S. claim relating to an allegedly defective product and failure of support.

• Edna conducts a training session on same neutral med-arb combinations at the American Arbitration Association’s Advanced Mediation Training Program. She speaks on “The Relationship between Culture and Disputing Processes” at Fordham Law School’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium and on Effective Legal Strategies to Resolve Environmental Disputes, at Pace Law School’s Kheel Center program.  Her article entitled Arbitration Agreements and Bankruptcy: Which Law Trumps When? is published in the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Lawyer.

October 2009

• Edna mediates a securities fraud claim with respect to a private placement and is selected as the sole arbitrator in two matter involving U.S./Greek franchise relationships.

• Edna moderates a panel on the Arbitration Fairness Act and presents views on draft arbitration protocols at the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA) annual meeting, is elected to join CCA’s Board of Directors and begins her service as co-chair of the CCA’s Public Positions committee. Edna’s article entitled Why Arbitrate: The Benefits and Savings is published in the New York State Bar Association Journal.

September 2009

• Edna mediates a dispute concerning failure to deliver SOx (air pollution) credits and is selected as the mediator for claims under a product warranty for defective parts.

• Edna is advised that she has been selected for listing in Best Lawyers for Alternative Dispute Resolution for 2010. She presents mediation tips and participates in a mock mediation at the ABA’s Section of Environment Energy and Resources fall meeting in Baltimore. Edna’s article entitled User Preferences and Mediator Practices: Can They Be Reconciled Within the Parameters Set by Ethical Considerations is published in the World Arbitration and Mediation Review.

August 2009

• Edna is selected as an arbitrator for a dispute involving claims of defective steel and as a mediator for a dispute concerning the allocation of the proceeds of the sale of a CERCLA superfund site.

• The Resolutions and Report that Edna spearheaded for the Section of International Law of the American Bar Association with respect to the Arbitration Fairness Act’s impacts on international business arbitration is adopted by the House of Delegates at the ABA annual meeting in Chicago. Edna receives the Section’s Unsung Hero Award for her efforts. Her article on the subject entitled The Arbitration Fairness Act: Unintended Consequences Threatens U.S. Business is published in The American Review of International Arbitration.

July 2009

• Edna sits as a sole arbitrator on a franchise fee refund claim and mediates disputes concerning an Italian/US. distribution agreement. She is selected to co-chair an arbitration panel in a dispute between partners with regard to intellectual property ownership. 

• Edna accepts an invitation to chair the Arbitration Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association. In recognition of her qualifications, Edna is certified as a mediator by the International Mediation Institute and is accepted for the roster of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.  Her article entitled The New York Convention Through A Mediation Prism, is published in the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Magazine.

June 2009

• Edna sits on a claim for a trade credit insurance payment and is selected as an arbitrator for a $60 million case between an electricity generator and a state agency, for a $30 million dollar insurance claim and for a franchisor/franchisee dispute.

• Edna accepts an invitation to co-chair the 2010 Institute for Transnational Arbitration and the American Society for International Law joint conference, speaks at the Fordham Law School Conference on international Arbitration and Mediation on Med–Arb Issues and presents at two Association for Conflict Resolution conferences on the Future of Investment State Dispute Mediation and on Community Engagement for Climate Change.

May 2009

• Edna sits as sole arbitrator on a claim concerning breach of a product development agreement and on an arbitration panel on a claim concerning failure to pay investment management fees and is selected as a mediator for a dispute  involving computer software development.  

• Edna completes the chapter on how the law can be used to foster adaptation solutions to global warming for Mayor Bloomberg’s New York City Panel on Climate Change and is appointed as chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Environment Energy and Resources Section of the American Bar Association for the 2009-2010 term.

April 2009

• Edna is selected as a mediator in a dispute involving claims against an accountant for professional malpractice and as an arbitrator in a dispute involving failure to make payments under a debenture.

• Edna moderates a panel on the Arbitration Fairness Act bills pending in Congress at the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section meeting and presents a Report and Resolutions with respect to the Arbitration Fairness Act pending in Congress which was adopted by the American Bar Association ‘s Section of International Law Council for presentation to the ABA House of Delegates.

March 2009

• Edna is selected as the sole arbitrator in a dispute involving a product development agreement entered into by a major retailer and mediates a renewable energy credit delivery dispute.

• Edna accepts an invitation to serve on the board of the College of Commercial Arbitrators and finishes her articles on designing an arb-med and med-arb process that will withstand court scrutiny and on the Arbitration Fairness Act pending in Congress.

February 2009:

• Edna is selected as chair of the arbitral panel and conducts the first preliminary conference in a partnership dispute concerning a major real estate development in the Caribbean and mediates a music copyright dispute.
• Edna is appointed as the first Distinguished ADR Practitioner in Residence by the Fordham University School of Law, effective April 1, 2009.

January 2009:

• Edna is elected as chair elect of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association
for 2009-2010
• Edna mediates a dispute between a hedge fund and a securities dealer over entitlement to oil warrants issued by the Republic of Venezuela in conjunction with its Brady Bonds and payments made on those warrants pegged to export oil prices.
• Edna speaks at the annual meeting of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution and the annual meeting of of the New York State Bar Association about the impact that the Fairness in Arbitration Act bill pending in congress would have, if enacted, on domestic and international business to business arbitration.

December 2008:

• Edna is selected to serve as sole arbitrator in a matter claiming an alleged breach of a settlement achieved during the pendency of a bankruptcy proceeding concerning technical knowledge, expertise and know-how in developing and manufacturing certain products.
• Edna is asked by the nominating committee to run for election as the chair-elect of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association.

November 2008:

• Edna mediates a claim by a French medical diagnostic equipment company against an American manufacturer for failure to pay for intellectual property development alleged to be due pursuant to an R&D development contract.
• Edna speaks about the ethical considerations in ADR from the perspective of the advocates at the Energy Bar Association mid-year meeting and speaks on a panel about resolving environmental interest disputes for the Kheel Center of Pace Law School at the NYC Bar Association. Edna is inducted as a fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators and attends their annual conference in San Francisco.

October 2008:

• Edna mediates a claim by a Japanese company against a Jersey company for failure to make royalty payments alleged to be due under a technology licensing arrangement.
• Edna chairs the program she organized for the American Arbitration Association and Fordham Law School and presides over the session on discovery and pre-hearing issues in arbitration. She is invited to join the Advisory Council of the Westchester County Climate Change Action Plan 2008 to work on implementation of the plan.

September 2008:

• Edna mediates a franchise termination dispute between a franchisee and a franchisor in the food industry and conducts a further mediation between the two owners of the franchise to meet the requirements of the franchisor.
• Edna is listed as an arbitrator on the panel of the newly created Chinese European Arbitration Centre in Hamburg, Germany.

August 2008:

• Edna commences the mediation of a CERCLA claim with respect to a polluted site and ultimately suggests and facilitates a stay of discovery which is granted by the court pending the Supreme Court’s decision in the Burlington case.
• Edna is asked to join as a member of the Section of Dispute Resolution Council of the American Bar Association to represent the liaisons from all ABA sections’ ADR committees to the Council and is appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to the New York City Panel on Climate Change. At the American Bar Association annual meeting, Edna chairs a program on avoiding, managing and resolving emerging risks, disputes and liability related to climate change.

July 2008:

• Edna is selected to serve as an arbitrator in a dispute concerning a failure to pay fees alleged to be owing to an investment banker for arranging a private placement of securities.
• Edna accepts an invitation to chair the alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Environment Energy and Resources Section of the American Bar Association.

June 2008:

• Edna is selected to serve as an arbitrator in a matter involving Cayman Island and U.S. entities alleging failure by an insurance company to pay sums owing under an export credit insurance policy in connection with transactions in Mexico.
• Edna speaks at the Fordham Law School Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation about issues related to enforcing mediation settlement agreements and attends the ICCA conference in Dublin.

May 2008:

• Edna mediates a dispute between a terminated franchisee and a franchisor in the hospitality industry seeking royalty fees, liquidated damages and other charges.
• Edna is appointed as the editor-in-chief of New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, the publication of the New York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, and as chair of its Publications Committee. She speaks at the American Bar Association Eastern Water Conference about what local communities across the United States are doing to plan for adaptation to climate change.

April 2008:

• Edna finalizes procedures for a hearing in which she is sitting as the sole arbitrator in a case involving alleged failures to pay commissions in the travel industry.
• Edna speaks on two panels at the American Bar Association Section of International Law annual meeting on the Energy Charter Treaty and developments in climate change related energy policy around the world.

March 2008:

• As chair of the arbitration panel, Edna conducts a hearing concerning claims of liability by an accounting firm in connection with tax shelter advice.
• Edna speaks at a PLI green buildings program on municipal actions to foster the development of green buildings.

February 2008:

• Edna’s service as an arbitration panel member at a hearing concerning a family dispute by members of a family based in Europe, New York and Israel over ownership to real estate established under an inter vivos trust is concluded with the issuance of the award.
• Edna is asked to chair the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Energy Bar Association.

January 2008:

• Edna mediates a claim by an indenture trustee against the issuer for failure to make required payments on Series B and C notes secured by real estate holdings.
• Edna attends the ICC, ICDR, IBA and LCIA conferences in New York, with a focus on the 50th anniversary of the New York Convention on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.