Honors and Awards:

• Selected for Alternative Dispute Resolution category for New York lawyers each year since formation of the list.  Best Lawyers Firm Profile, Best Lawyers - ADR List, New York, Best Lawyers, 2005
• http://www.bestlawyers.com/Lawyers/Simeon_H_Baum Best Lawyer's “Lawyer of the Year” for 2011 in category of Alternative Dispute Resolution, for New York. Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Received highest rating in this category for New York., Lawyer of the Year - ADR, New York, Best Lawyers, 2011
• http://www.nadn.org/simeon-baum Selected for New York panel and on New York panel Advisory Board., Distinguished Neutral, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, 2011

Special Licenses/Certifications:

• Commercial Mediation Trainings developed by Mr. Baum, and presented for more than a decade with his colleague Steve Hochman, for mediators on the Commercial Division panels of the New York State Court, Supreme Court, New York, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens counties have been approved under Part 146 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator, Office of Court Administration.  http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/adr/Part146_FAQs.shtml  Messrs. Baum and Hochman present three day Commercial mediation trainings, and two day "Advanced Commercial Mediation" trainings., 2011

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Mr. Baum’s peers have appointed him to many key posts.  In 2008, Mr. Baum served as founding Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association.  During his term, the Section grew from a former ADR Committee of 93 members to an 800 member Section; the Section currently has 3,000 members.  He had previously served as subcommittee chair of the New York State Bar Association’s ADR Committee. He is past Chair of the New York County Lawyers Association's Committee on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and also chaired its Continuing Legal Education ("CLE") subcommittee for several years. He is on the Board of Governors, NYS Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program, and served as Chair of the Joint Committee on Fee Disputes and Conciliation (a collaboration of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, NYCLA, and the Bronx County Bar Association), when Part 137 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the New York State Court was first implemented. This required forming and training a panel of neutrals and overseeing the mandatory arbitration and voluntary mediation of attorney client fee disputes in New York and Bronx Counties. Mr. Baum has also served as Chair of the Legislative Tracking Subcommittee of the ABA Litigation Section's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee; and as a member of the ABA's Dispute Resolution Section's Mediation Committee.  He has also served on the ADR Advisory Group for the Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York County and on the Statewide ADR Advisory Group and Mediation Ethics Advisory Committee, N.Y. State Unified Court System. 

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Mr. Baum has shared his enthusiasm for ADR through teaching, training, extensive writing and public speaking.  He has taught ADR at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Development, and he teaches Negotiation, and Processes of Dispute Resolution (focusing on Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration) at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.  He developed and conducts 3-day programs training mediators for the Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York, Queens, and Westchester Counties. He has been a panelist, presenter and facilitator for numerous programs on mediation, arbitration, and ADR for Judges, attorneys, and other professionals. 

Video:

• This audio webinar drawn from a New York City Bar Association panel discussion catalogs and addresses a number of ethics issues that can arise in mediation and settlement negotiations,  with a specific focus on confidentiality, conflicts of interest and related issues.  The program discusses ethical questions from the point of view of the mediator, the outside lawyer, and the client. It closes with a brief discussion on how to research ethics issues and how to get help from an ethics committee of lawyers, or mediators, when needed., Selected Ethics Issues in Mediation and Settlement Negotiations, Ethics, Litigators, Mediation, Negotiators, 2010
• Video CLE.  In order to help opposing parties resolve conflicts in the quickest and most effective way possible, mediators must be prepared to deal with a number of differing perspectives, personalities, and negotiation styles.  In this informative and instructive course, experienced mediator and attorney Simeon Baum provides a detailed overview of the role of the mediator and the basic stages of mediation. Focusing on the Fisher/Ury Model of Cooperative Negotiation, Mr. Baum furnishes guidance on effective communication, active listening, how to deal with emotional triggers, and what mediation practices to avoid. Mr. Baum also discusses the art of giving and getting information as well as how mediators can help attorneys determine whether and when it is best to settle, walk away, or prepare for an expensive and time consuming trial. After viewing this course, attorneys will be equipped with the essential skills to guide their clients through a mediation as well as those needed to become a successful mediator. Agenda:  I. Pre-Mediation; II. Mediator Functions & Roles; III. Fisher/Ury Model of Cooperative Negotiation; IV. Preparation; V. Opening Statements, Style & Strategies for Participating in Mediation Session; VI. Giving & Getting Information; VII. When to Settle, Walk Away, or Go to Trial; VIII. Attorney Role Summarized & 10 Things Not to Do in Mediation, Effective Representation in Mediation, Commercial Mediation And General Mediation, 2011
• This audio webinar provides guidance on maximizing use of the mediation process and obtaining the greatest value for one's clients. To enhance the representative’s effectiveness, one must understand the mediation process – a facilitated negotiation – and the mediator’s role. Following an overview of process, role, and mediator selection, Simeon Baum gives tips on negotiation strategy and style, preparation for mediation, effective openings, information gathering and disclosure strategy, risk and transaction cost analysis, reality testing, commitment level, and flexibility.  There is a question-and-answer session at the end., Effective Representation in Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Discovery & E-Discovery, Litigation & Appeals, Negotiation & Settlement, Trial Skills, 2011

Educational Background:

• Colgate University, B.A., cum laude, 1976
• Colgate University, M.A. (with distinction) in Philosophy (Comparative Study of Religion), 1979
• Fordham University School of Law, Commentary Editor, Fordham International Law Journal, 1982