Why HirshADR

Experience with litigation resolves disputes; experience with disputes resolves litigation.

MARKETING EXPERTS SAY THAT I SHOULD BE TELLING YOU THAT I AM SOMEONE WHO HAS SHARPENED HIS MIND BY NARROWING IT: that the right neutral to pick is an expert in the particular issue involved in your dispute and that I have that expertise. This may be the right way for a neutral to market, but I don’t think it is the right way to pick a neutral. I believe effective dispute resolution is, itself, a skill that benefits from broad experience.

Why would you want a neutral who has litigated cases in courts in over 40 states? Who has represented the Department of Education in the Kansas City school desegregation case and both plaintiffs and defendants in class action and antitrust litigation? Who has represented professional and general liability insurers faced with billions of dollars of exposure and whistleblowers alleging fraud against taxpayers? Who has handled disputes in Baton Rouge, Bismarck, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, Cleveland, Boston, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Sioux Falls, Washington, Phoenix, Greenville, SC, and dozens of other cities and towns around the country?

Because this experience matters. A neutral with diverse and extensive litigation experience appreciates and understands what both parties are experiencing, and draws from a large toolkit to arrive at a fair resolution efficiently.

Too often this does not happen. Disputes, whether in court, arbitration, mediation or negotiation, bog down. Parties waste time and money on disputes that do not matter and miss opportunities to take advantage of better options to resolve the ones that do fairly and efficiently.

Being a litigator and counselor helps me to be a better neutral.

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