Mediator Profile

Name: Fitzgerald, Judith K.

Firm: Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Experience: Bankruptcy Including Appeals, Construction, Divorce Support, diverse - see narrative

Contact Info.: jfitzgerald@tuckerlaw.com
412-559-2987
412-594-3933

Rates: Hourly: negotiable Half Day: negotiable Daily: negotiable Flat Fee: negotiable

Description: As a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for over 25 years and since returning to private practice, I acquired wide diversity in mediation practice. I have been particularly active in helping to resolve malpractice, contract, mass tort and trust related matters, fact and expert discovery disputes, insurance claims and inter-company disputes, and fee disputes. I have mediated several significant environmental disputes including those involving CERCLA (superfund) issues, Ponzi schemes, securities violation claims, discrimination disputes including ADA and Fair Housing Act matters, satellite communications issues, personal injury and property damage claims and a variety of bankruptcy avoidance actions (such as preference, fraudulent and post-petition transfers). I have been retained to mediate real estate matters such as boundary, title and mortgage disputes, corporate actions such as shareholder, officer and director liability matters, commercial disputes involving negotiable instruments, secured transactions, subordination, guaranty and construction claims, veterans’ benefits, and equitable distribution actions. During my tenure on the bench, I also was appointed to serve as a bankruptcy judge on cases pending in Delaware (20 years), the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (9 years). I have had the privilege of helping parties resolve their disputes thousands of times. On many of those occasions the dispute was resolved when I made a decision. However, far more matters before me were resolved through settlement than through adjudication. My skills as a mediator have been honed through my experience and my training. Those skills have been recognized by other judges who refer difficult cases to me for mediation. Although much of my legal experience has been in bankruptcy court, my mediation skills are not limited to bankruptcy issues and I have served as mediator, arbitrator and early neutral evaluator in state and federal courts and in private disputes throughout the country. I have served as a judge for mock trials and arguments involving securities and ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives) and satellite network disputes. I am a member of FedArb, the association of former federal judges who provide mediation and arbitration services in complex civil cases, the Western PA Mediation Council and various other mediation associations. I participate in committees of several professional organizations regarding ADR and professional responsibility.

Training: I have taken, planned and taught a variety of courses related to mediation and alternative dispute resolution. I regularly design, produce and otherwise attend mediation CLEs. For example, I co-planned and co-presented a program on using mediation as a strategy for resolving business disputes. I have attended programs such as the two-day program the by PA Council of Mediators that included "Mediating Outside the Box' and a variety of workshops. I attended the U.S. District Court's update on ADR and several programs (CLE and non-CLE)by the Mediation Council in family law mediation, elder mediation and consumer services. I also taught a course called "The View from the Mediator's Table," for CLE credits. Others include the Advanced Bankruptcy Mediation taught by St. John’s University and the American Bankruptcy Institute, Conflict Resolution Day Training, Strategies to Break Impasse, and Why Mediation. I attended several other mediation courses as a judge and received a certificate as a qualified mediator. My "on-the-job" training includes having expanded my mediation practice so that I am regularly contacted by parties in bankruptcy, federal and state court disputes and by private parties where no court action is pending.

Last Updated: 01/27/2023

End of Results: 1 mediator found.

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