Mediation and Arbitration
Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer's attorneys serve as private and court-appointed mediators on a broad range of civil litigation and commercial matters. Drawing on their years of experience as trial attorneys for both plaintiffs and defendants, the firm's mediators bring to the table the familiarity with both the mediation and litigation process necessary to communicate effectively with parties and counsel about the strengths and weaknesses of cases and the advantages of controlling risk through negotiated resolutions.
- Mediation. The firm's mediation style couples an in-depth understanding of the facts and law with an aggressive "hand's on" approach to identifying and communicating risks to all sides, which helps bring the parties to closure in difficult cases. Our mediators handle a wide variety of cases including complex commercial litigation, tort and insurance coverage litigation, products liability, environmental liability, employment disputes, land-related litigation, insurance sales practices, reinsurance disputes, lawyer and accountant professional malpractice, financial advisor malfeasance, ERISA benefits, trade secrets and intellectual property, warranties, and Uniform Commercial Code sales provisions. One attorney is on the National Panel of Mediators of the American Arbitration Association. The firm's mediators have also lectured at continuing education sessions for mediators, both in North America and in Europe.
- Arbitration. Attorneys from the firm have served as arbitrators in disputes involving uninsured motorist claims, contracts, employment grievances and termination, franchise and distribution termination, lawyer and accountant professional malpractice, and covenants against competition. One is attorney is a member of the Commercial Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association. The firm's neutral arbitrators accept arbitration appointments through that Association, as well as directly from the parties to a dispute. The firm's arbitration experience is national and includes claims of unsuitable securities investments; attorney malpractice; breach of consulting agreements; "bad faith" violations of sales agreements; contested succession arrangements for family business; termination of commercial agreements; breaches of distributor (franchise) agreements; accountant malpractice claims; interpretation of employee stock options contracts and plans; and various employment, employment discrimination, employment termination and ERISA issues. The firm's arbitration experience includes class action arbitrations involving claims of improper insurance sales practices, wage-hour violations and multi-party damage claims arising from distributor-required data processing system. The firm's arbitrators frequently serve on three-member arbitration panels.
- Advocacy. Drawing on their broad experience as neutrals, the firm's attorneys regularly represent clients in both private mediation and arbitration, as well as court-ordered mediation in the state and federal courts of Vermont and New Hampshire. With most courts now requiring litigants to participate in mandatory ADR as part of the litigation process, an intimate understanding of the mediation and arbitration processes and the advocacy skills that are effective in such venues is critical to effective client representation.
Primary Contacts:
Gary H. Barnes, P.A.
Leo A. Bisson
Gregory S. Clayton
Gregory M. Eaton
Gary F. Karnedy
Articles of Interest:
Drafting an Arbitration Clause: A Checklist
Use of Arbitration Clauses in Commercial Agreements
Study Finds Settling is Better Than Going to Trial
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