Alternative Dispute Resolution
Complementing our litigation services is the firm's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practice. As its name signifies, this practice is for the resolution of commercial, chancery, probate family and civil disputes by means other than a conventional courtroom trial, primarily, by mediation and arbitration. In general, ADR is seen as a faster and more cost-effective means of resolving disputes.
There are many types of matters that can benefit from alternative dispute resolution, including:
- Shareholder and partnership issues
- Commercial contracts
- Family law issues
- Construction industry issues
- Employment-related matters
- Intellectual property disputes
- Bankruptcies and financial restructurings
- Will Contests
Our ADR practice includes three former judges with over 60 years of combined experience and notable backgrounds in alternative dispute resolution. The group also includes John Schmidt, Jr., former Chairperson of Lindabury's Labor and Employment practice group. After practicing as a employment law litigator for 45 years, John now concentrates his practice in providing mediation services for employment law disputes.
The Honorable John M. ("Jack") Boyle (Ret.), former Union County Superior Court Judge in the Equity Part heads our ADR practice. Jack provides services as an independent mediator, arbitrator, special master and complex case manager. His seventeen years as a judge in Union County in various positions of the court and his 30 years as a private attorney prior to his judicial tenure have given him the legal and interpersonal tools to handle disputes practically, fairly and efficiently.
The Honorable Judge Ross R. Anzaldi (Ret.) formerly of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County, concentrates his practice in the areas of arbitration and mediation. With more than 18 years of experience on the bench, Judge Anzaldi has presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trials, as well as thousands of settlement conferences. He has adjucated cases in a wide variety of areas, while serving in the Law Division. Some of the areas he’s offered his professionalism have been auto and personal injury matters, insurance, construction law, LAD, CEPA, and partnership dissolutions—not to mention environmental insurance allocation matters. Prior to serving in the judiciary, Judge Anzaldi worked in private practice.
The Honorable Judge Katherine Dupuis (Ret.) focuses her practice on mediation and arbitration with a special concentration on commercial disputes, probate mediation, and divorce mediation. Formerly, the Presiding Judge of the Chancery, Probate and Family Divisions of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County, she brings wealth and knowledge from 27 years of service in the Civil, Family, and Criminal Divisions of the Union County Courts. Judge Dupuis has managed will contests, challenges to the transfer of assets before and after a decedent’s death, disputes that arise from divorce litigation, as well as stockholder derivate suits, real estate disputes, and business valuations.
Our litigation attorneys also routinely participate in ADR when representing clients, either as an imposed or voluntary alternative to litigation. They approach these proceedings with the same vigor and resolve they would apply at trial, making good use of the advantages these alternative venues offer.