March 3, 2025 - TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb publishes to the firm's YouTube channel a video of a February 27, 2025 CLE presentation, entitled Harnessing the Power of PDFs: Effective Document Management in Mediation and Other ADR Processes, geared geared towards Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division, Second Department Mandatory Civil Appeals Mediation Program ("MCAMP") Special Masters and other alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") professionals who regularly handle complex mediations, arbitrations, or other ADR processes involving voluminous documents.  Focusing on practical applications of PDF editor software, the program attendees learned how to build a secure and organized digital case file, optimize document accessibility and searchability, and enhance case analysis and information discussion.  A comprehensive guide detailing the techniques and processes discussed in the presentation can be downloaded here or from the Resources & Articles page. 

UPDATE - February 4, 2025 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb has updated all of his AAA arbitrator and mediator resumes to reflect his recent service as an arbitrator or mediator in resolving commercial and consumer disputes, all of which can be downloaded as one combined PDF by clicking here or by visiting the Resources & Articles page.

UPDATE - May 1, 2023 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, acting as an AAA arbitrator in a seven-figure (i.e., over $1,000,000) combined consumer and personal injury arbitration involving a large international company, has issued a comprehensive final reasoned award resolving the parties' dispute.

UPDATE - April 8, 2021 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb is confirmed as an active arbitrator on AAA's Consumer Panel.

UPDATE - February 18, 2021 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb is now confirmed as holding "active" status on AAA's Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators (General Commercial Panel). 

December 8, 2020 - The American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), one of the foremost Alternative Dispute Resolution providers in the world, welcomes Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb to its Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators (General Commercial Panel).  Mr. Weinreb is thrilled to be part of this wonderful organization!

January 9, 2025 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes for a blessed, happy, healthy, productive, prosperous, successful, and wonderful 2025 to all!  As a Jewish New Year greeting goes, "May last year and its curses end as the new year and its blessings begin!"  The New Year is off to a most active start for TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq., having participated twice in the same day as a faculty mock arbitrator in Professor Theo Cheng, Esq.'s intensive Domestic Arbitration online school course, offered by New York Law School.

November 7, 2024 - Congratulations to TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. for successfully mediating yet another (see October 1, 2024 firm announcement below) decade-plus, multi-party legal malpractice dispute venued in Supreme Court, Nassau County.  Further contentious litigation involving the parties will now be avoided, thereby easily saving them at least tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and related transaction costs.  With G-d's help, a tenacious and determined "never gave up" positive mental attitude, and much-appreciated assistance of the parties, their counsel, and one particularly dedicated insurance company representative at various intervals, Mr. Weinreb was once again able to generate movement among the parties and break impasses to get to the proverbial finish line.  With this matter resolved, TWLF sets a new "firm best" dispute resolution efficiency record record of resolving four litigations within three months (see September 25, 2024, and October 1, 2024 firm announcements below) venued in two separate courts collectively having an aggregate amount-in-controversy value exceeding three million dollars.

October 1, 2024 - Congratulations to TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. for successfully mediating a decade-plus acrimonious legal malpractice dispute venued in Supreme Court, Nassau County.  Further contentious litigation involving the parties will now be avoided, thereby easily saving them at least tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and related transaction costs.  With G-d's help, a tenacious and determined "never gave up" positive mental attitude, and much-appreciated assistance of the parties and their counsel at various intervals, Mr. Weinreb was able to generate movement and break impasses among the parties during several negotiation rounds in confidential virtual breakout rooms.

September 25, 2024 - Congratulations to TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. for successfully mediating a complicated, multi-party combined appellate-level and trial-level personal injury/insurance dispute. (Click here for the relevant Appellate Division, Second Department Stipulation of Withdrawal signifying resolution of this dispute).  This marks the first time that Mr. Weinreb has mediated two disputes simultaneously effectively as a consolidated single dispute, thereby easily saving the parties at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and related transaction costs.  

August 21, 2024 - Congratulations to TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. for having been admitted as a Mediator and Neutral Evaluator to the New York State Unified Court System Part 146 Supreme Court, Richmond County 13th Judicial District Alternative Dispute Resolution Program Roster of Neutrals.  Mr. Weinreb looks forward to being of continued service to the New York State Unified Court System in his capacity as a court-annexed neutral.

August 21, 2024 - Congratulations to TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. for having been admitted to the following International Institute for Conflict Prevention of Resolution (CPR) panels of neutrals in addition to maintaining his membership on CPR's New York City ADR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals (Arbitrator and Mediator):

• CPR Dispute Prevention Panel
   
• CPR Dispute Resolution Board Panel

The neutrals who are members of these panels are arbitrators, mediators, and facilitators—including former in-house counsel, engineers, law firm practitioners, and others experienced in commercial disputes—skilled in facilitating conflict management and solving business tensions either before they become legal conflicts or disputes or shortly after such that they are accurately characterized as "early intervention" dispute resolution professionals.

UPDATE - March 13, 2024 - Finally!  After approximately two years since they were first proposed, New York now has enabling rules in effect, namely Part 160 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Trial Courts, that provide courts with the ability to set neutral compensation!

What a long road to have traveled . . . but the journey is by no means over.  With the enabling rules now officially "on the books", it is time to start thinking about setting a reasonable compensation “floor” for neutrals (or to at least have the New York State Office of Court Administration's ("OCA") new Alternative Dispute Resolution Division issue official guidance on this topic and allow courts to set neutral compensation on a case-by-case basis).

UPDATE - September 20, 2023 - TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, Esq. and current New York County Lawyers Association ("NYCLA") ADR Committee Vice-Chair Dorothy C. Kaldi, Esq. publish on national legal news website Law360® "New York Must Guarantee Court Neutrals Fair Compensation", an expert analysis opinion article.  An unofficial version of the article is available for download here.

UPDATE - March 28, 2022 - After a March 23rd "open to the public" meeting of NYCLA's ADR Committee featuring five staunch supporters of the proposed statewide ADR rules—Steven M. Bierman, Esq., Ross Kartez, Esq., John S. Kiernan, Esq., Daniel F. Kolb, Esq., and Evan J. Spelfogel, Esq.—as guest speakers (now available for viewing by clicking here), via an online vote, the ADR Committee's members unanimously support sending OCA an official letter supporting the rules' promulgation and paving the proverbial road for establishing fair and reasonable compensation policies for New York neutrals.  That letter was drafted and subsequently sent to OCA on April 4, 2022.

UPDATE - February 8, 2022 - Yesterday, Ross Kartez, Chair of the New York State Bar Association's ("NYSBA") Dispute Resolution Section, announced that OCA has released proposed STATEWIDE ADR RULES, a major development in the NY ADR world and something which many ADR practitioners, including yours truly, have sought to see developed.  The proposed statewide rules address not only neutral compensation but other topics as well.   Comments on same to OCA are open until April 4, 2022 (although Ross apparently is only accepting comments until February 18, 2022). 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

UPDATE - November 1, 2021 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb, and two NYCLA colleagues, Dorothy Kaldi, Esq. and Avvocato Federica Romanelli, complete the Table of State Neutral Compensation Rules and Statutes described below.  

UPDATE - May 4, 2021 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb hosts an informative and productive online meeting lasting approimately two hours with bar association leaders from the New York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, New York City Bar Association, and other bar associations or ADR organizations throughout the United States on the issues raised by the petition, leading Mr. Weinreb to create an online Table of State Neutral Compensation Rules and Statutes.  When complete, the latter will be a most useful resource for effectuating change.  

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MEETING IN ITS ENTIRETY

April 19, 2021 - Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb starts an online petition on change.org, entitled "Fairly Compensate New York Court Mediators, Neutral Evaluators, and Arbitrators" to remedy the inequity, injustice, and unfairness of mediators, neutral evaluators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") professionals who work in New York court-annexed ADR programs receiving nothing or, at best, meager compensation for the many hours they spend preparing for mediation and other ADR sessions as well as for conducting portions of those sessions.  Click here to sign the petition, and please promote it!  

June 20, 2023 - TWLF Managing Member Elan E. Weinreb is now a certified BlueNotary electronic notary capable of notarizing documents through Remote Online Notarization ("RON") from any Internet-accessible location.  Click the image to the left or here to experience the amazing convenience and low cost of RON (especially relative to rates generally charged by mobile/travel notaries who perform in-person notarizations).

Important: Document principals/signatories must have: (i) Internet access; (ii) online videoconferencing capabilities (most smartphones will work); and (iii) photographic proof of identity such as a driver's license or passport to use this service.