Drafting the Arbitration Provision in Commercial Contracts

Jacqueline Silvey, Esq. is General Counsel of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation). She is involved in various management operations of the company including panel development, oversight and implementation of commercial and employment dispute resolution initiatives, the creation and implementation of various rules of procedure, and the general business affairs of the company. She also oversees neutral recruitment throughout the United States and internationally.

Prior to joining NAM, Ms. Silvey was a Senior Litigation Associate and House Counsel for Chubb Insurance Company representing the carrier's corporate insureds under their respective Directors' and Officers' Liability policies. She has litigated in the Federal Courts, both Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, The New York State Courts and various city and state agencies.

Ms. Silvey has been honored by the Long Island Business News with a 2020 Leadership in Law Award and recognized by the same publication as a 2020 Who's Who Women in Professional Services.

The Honorable John P. DiBlasi’s illustrious career includes 10 years spent as Justice of the Supreme Court, Commercial Division where he resolved hundreds of matters. As the presiding justice of the commercial part in the court in which he sat, he developed the rules for discovery practice and for the trial of commercial matters which are similar to those used in the federal courts. While on the bench he presided over complex commercial litigation involving contracts, employment, real property/land use and environmental litigation matters and developed extensive experience in the trial and settlement of complex commercial matters. Judge DiBlasi created the Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program, which was successfully implemented by the Court.

In 2021, for the eighth year in a row, Judge DiBlasi was named one of the Top Three Mediators in the United States by The National Law Journal Best Of Survey (voted #1 four years in a row). He was also voted the #1 mediator in the United States by the 2018 Corporate Counsel Best Of Survey and he was named a National Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution Champion, as part of a select group of only 46 nationwide. Further, he was ranked a Top Ten Mediator in the 2020 New York Law Journal Best of Survey for the eleventh consecutive year. Judge DiBlasi has consistently been designated a Super Lawyer since 2013 and holds an AV Preeminent Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell in both Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation – a distinction given only to those who possess the highest ethical standards and professional ability.

As a full-time neutral with NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), his ADR practice encompasses a wide and varied range of cases, inclusive of commercial, class action, construction, corporate dissolution, debtor/creditor, employment, environmental, insurance, investor fraud, international law, land use, professional liability, as well as catastrophic personal injury actions, among others. Judge DiBlasi is based in New York, hears cases throughout the country, and has handled significant, high-stakes matters in multiple locations, including Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Las Vegas and Miami.

As a mediator, Judge DiBlasi has developed a reputation for settling the most complex matters and is persistent in following up with parties after the mediation in an effort to assist the parties in reaching and finalizing a resolution. As a commercial arbitrator, he has the skills necessary to digest and analyze expert testimony, complex contracts and documents, as well as the ability to render prompt and reasoned decisions. Judge DiBlasi’s experience and deep knowledge of a variety of practice areas enables him to take on almost any subject matter that is brought before him. He is known to be well prepared and adept at comprehending even the most complex issues.

He has mediated and/or arbitrated numerous cases involving commercial matters, complex insurance coverage issues among multiple defendants; complex land use actions inclusive of large commercial developments; municipal projects, and allegations of noncompliance with SEQRA; and employment law matters involving sexual harassment, wrongful termination, claims under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act, retaliation cases involving in-house “open door” policies, tortious interference with employment contracts and prospective business relations; toxic tort and other complex catastrophic personal injury actions.

Justice DiBlasi is an active speaker and has devoted his time to presenting workshops on a wide range of commercial topics at many of the top law firms throughout the United States. He is also a longtime supporter of the K9 Rescue Mission, a non-profit organization dedicated to the service of retiring and retired Military Working Dogs and Contract Working Dogs. He also serves on the advisory board of the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) of Westchester County, NY.

From 1990-1998, Judge DiBlasi served proudly as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG) where he performed legal services during three tours of duty in the Republic of Panama, West Point, NY and Fort Dix, NJ. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

Judge DiBlasi is available to arbitrate and mediate cases throughout the United Stat