Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.), partner and team leader of Lippes Mathias’ alternative dispute resolution practice team, served as chair during a College of Commerical Arbitrators presentation titled Getting it Right: Duty and Discretion in Tracking Down the Law, held virtually on Tuesday, July 30. 

Presenters, in addition to Judge Heckman, included Marc. J. Goldstein of MJG Arbitration, Conna A. Weiner of Conna Weiner ADR, and Hon. Timothy K. Lewis of Blank Rome. Together, the group explored the widely disparate views and practices among leading arbitrators about the role of the Tribunal in identifying and applying the applicable law, not only to the merits but to the wide variety of procedural and case management issues that often arise. 

About Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.) 

With more than 40 years of experience as a trial lawyer and judge, Judge Heckman (Ret.) has an active practice as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and conducts arbitrations in most major metropolitan areas with a particular concentration in New York City. In addition to arbitrations and mediations, Judge Heckman was selected as a fellow to the College of Commercial Arbitrators, an exclusive group of commercial arbitrators representing the best in the United States, where she serves as co-chair of the Education Committee. Judge Heckman also engages in litigation counseling and trial work for American Indian tribes and a group of business clients, providing representation in government investigations, complex commercial matters, taxation, and gaming. She has tried numerous cases as a lawyer, a judge, and an arbitrator in a broad range of disputes. Judge Heckman served as a magistrate judge in the Western District of New York for eight years, where she was selected to sit on the Federal Judicial Conference’s Education Committee for Magistrate Judges and served as an officer in the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. She has also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., an assistant U.S. attorney in Buffalo, New York, and as a law clerk for Hon. John T. Curtin, former chief judge of the Western District of New York. 

About Lippes Mathias LLP 

Lippes Mathias is a full-service law firm with nearly 200 attorneys serving clients regionally, nationally, and internationally. With offices in Buffalo, Clarence, Albany, Long Island, New York, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, and Syracuse, N.Y.; Greater Toronto Area; Chicago, Ill.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Cleveland, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla. and Washington, D.C., the firm represents publicly and privately-owned companies, private equity and venture capital firms, real estate developers, financial institutions, municipalities, governmental entities, and individuals.