WALT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the Executive Committee
- NADN Executive Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- NADN Executive Staff Member
- Research & Administration
Job Titles:
- Inn of Court: Former Master, Counselor, past President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Jerry Palmer specializes in mediation of complicated business disputes, construction disputes, medical malpractice, and product liability. Other areas of expertise include defamation, professional liability, explosion and property damage claims, disability insurance, partnership dissolution, employment and contract issues, and general tort. Having resolved hundreds of complex disputes, Jerry also lectures in both professional and academic forums on the subject of mediation.
Drawing mediation expertise from 40 years of litigation experience representing both plaintiff's and defendant's viewpoints, Jerry is recognized by the United States District Court and was certified by the Kansas Supreme Court, as a mediator for core and civil cases 2001-2020.
He has Mediatred over 2,300 cases
Job Titles:
- Diplomate Member
- President of Upchurch Watson White
John J. Upchurch is the president of Upchurch Watson White & Max. He previously served as chairman of the mediation group of the law firm of Cobb Cole & Bell, from which the mediation firm evolved.
A pioneer in the field, Mr. Upchurch was among the first group of mediators to become certified in Florida. He specializes in the resolution of complex multiparty disputes and commercial litigation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
- Diplomate Member / Salmon & Dulberg Dispute Resolution, Inc.
John W. Salmon, Esq. is a natural mediator with a broad-based educational, legal and business background. He is a graduate of Penn State University "with Distinction", the University of Florida College of Law and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Florida International University where he was an adjunct faculty member in the College of Business for over 15 years. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the FIU College of Law teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution.
John is a Diplomate member of NADN and serves on its Executive Committee. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators and Diplomate and past President of The Florida Academy of Professional Mediators. John is on the Executive Council of the ADR Section of The Florida Bar where he previously served as Chair of the Alternative Dispute Committee of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar and as Chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Mediation Committee.
In addition to having mediated nearly 9,500 cases, John is a frequent lecturer on "Appropriate Dispute Resolution" often incorporating martial arts and mediation techniques into his presentations. He is a Nidan, Second Degree Black Belt - with the Cuong Nhu Martial Arts Association.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Judge Elaine Gordon founded Gordon ADR in 2011, after a 23-year career as a trial judge with the Connecticut Superior Court. During her judicial career, Judge Gordon decided, mediated, or assisted in settlement of virtually every type of dispute. In 1992, Judge Gordon became the first Connecticut judge to become certified as a 40-hour trained mediator.
Since retiring from the bench, and becoming a full-time mediator and arbitrator, Judge Gordon has settled or decided over 2000 full-day cases. More than 1500 lawyers have retained the services of Judge Gordon. The cases have ranged from complex, highly contentious and emotionally charged matters to multi-party litigations.
Judge Gordon is known for her detailed preparation for each case and her respect for counsel. Combined with a tireless work ethic, Judge Gordon brings patient optimism, empathy, and a willingness to engage clients in the pursuit of settlement.
Job Titles:
- Administrator
- Member of the Executive Committee
- NADN Executive Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Diplomate Member / Laura a. Kaster LLC
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Lee Jay has taken literally thousands of hours of training in mediation, arbitration, negotiation and related course work at the most highly-regarded programs in the United States (Harvard Program on Negotiation, Pepperdine Law School's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, the American Arbitration Assn., and the ABA's fine arbitrator training).
Additionally, Mr. Berman is a world-renown trainer in the fields of mediation, negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. He has tought thousands of judges, attorneys and business leaders to be mediators and arbitrators, serving for seven years as Director of Pepperdine's "Mediating the Litigated Case" program, and founding the American Institute of Mediation. Mr. Berman has trained is Amsterdam, Dubai, Delhi, Brisbane, and most of the 50 states.
In August 2017, Lee Jay was named 2017 Distinguished Neutral of the Year by the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Experience Includes Service on Three - Member
René Stemple Trehy has devoted her professional career to alternative dispute resolution. She has served as a mediator, arbitrator, and special master in diverse subject areas of the law for lawyers and judges throughout the Southeast and principally in North Carolina. Ms. Trehy has long been a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section, and she served two years as the Section's Chairperson (2012-2014).
Ms. Trehy graduated cum laude from West Virginia University in 1983 and in 1986 from Duke University Law School. From 1990- 2002, Ms. Trehy served as Executive Director of the Duke University School of Law's Private Adjudication Center. In that position, she designed, implemented and directed the administration of ADR programs for settlement of class actions and mass torts, led the Center's mediation training, and administered the Center's dispute resolution programs. In 2002, Ms. Trehy co-founded Beason & Ellis Conflict Resolution, LLC.
Ms. Trehy has mediated extensively in these and other areas of litigation: medical malpractice, construction, business disputes, products liability, insurance coverage, employment, consumer, eminent domain, environmental disputes, nursing home negligence, wrongful death and other catastrophic personal injury cases. These mediations frequently arise in difficult or complex circumstances involving multiple parties, class actions, and insurance coverage disputes.
René Trehy's arbitration experience includes service on three-member panels and as sole arbitrator. She has arbitrated cases involving professional malpractice, construction defects, products liability, medical malpractice, personal injury and others.
In addition, federal and state judiciary have appointed Ms. Trehy as Special Master in several complex litigations, including a national class action involving products liability, a multi-party CERCLA dispute in the Northern District of Alabama, and a class action settlement in Florida involving claims of property damage and personal injury. Ms. Trehy recently served as a Neutral in the Individualized Claims Resolution Process established as part of the nationwide class action settlement approved by the Northern District of Illinois in McReynolds et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Case No. 05-cv-6583 (N.D. III.).
Ms. Trehy's service as an educator in alternative dispute resolution complements her practical experience. She has been a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University School of Law, teaching negotiation and mediation advocacy since 1992. She has been a lead faculty member for mediation training in North Carolina for twenty years. Ms. Trehy has taught at seminars across the nation, and she is the author or co-author of numerous seminar manuscripts and scholarly articles in the field of alternative dispute resolution.
Ms. Trehy has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Alternative Dispute Resolution specialty since 2007. For 2013, she was named the Raleigh, NC Arbitration Best Lawyers' "Lawyer of the Year", and for 2015, she was named the Raleigh, NC Mediation Best Lawyers' "Lawyer of the Year," and 2016 & 2018 Raleigh NC Arbitration "Lawyer of the Year."
Ms. Trehy was awarded the North Carolina Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section's Peace Award in March of 2017. The Section "periodically recognizes one or more individuals in North Carolina who have made a special contribution or commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes." Consideration is given for their "overall contribution and commitment to the field of alternative dispute resolution." Ms. Trehy is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- NADN Executive Staff Member
- Accounts ( Semi - Retired )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
- Diplomate Member / Bunger & Robertson
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the National Executive Committee
- Diplomate Member
- Founding Member of the Georgia Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators
Terrence Lee Croft has substantial experience serving as a neutral in mediation, arbitration, early neutral evaluation and other ADR procedures. His experience as a mediator and an arbitrator spans more than 30 years, during which he has successfully resolved more than 3,500 disputes. He is exclusively available for mediation and arbitration through JAMS, The Resolution Experts, 404 588-0900. He is available through "http://www.croftadr.com" (404)-577-8400 as an ADR coach and consultant.
Terrence is registered as a Neutral in Arbitration, Mediation and ENE with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. He has also served as a neutral for the American Arbitration Association, the Fulton County Arbitration Program and many Court annexed programs and appointments.
Terrence Lee Croft is a Founding Member of the Georgia Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators.
Terrence Lee Croft was a trial lawyer since graduating with distinction from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965, following graduation from Yale University, 1962. He prepared at the John Burroughs School, 1958.
Job Titles:
- IT Manager
- Member of the Executive Committee
- NADN Executive Staff Member