Mr. Byrne is Senior Counsel to the Firm and focuses his practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”). He has been serving as a Mediator since Mediation first came on the horizon as a cost-effective means of resolving litigation and other disputes. He is well-respected professionally and has a reputation for bringing the most contentious disputes to full and final resolution. A strong proponent of ADR and a Certified Mediator with the United States District Court, Mr. Byrne brings more than 30 years of ADR experience to the matters before him.
He has successfully mediated issues in a wide variety of specialty areas, including commercial disputes, employment discrimination claims, employment contract disputes, wage and hour/FLSA claims, construction matters, complex personal injury and property damage claims, insurance and reinsurance matters, risk transfer disputes and life, health and disability claims. His legal career of over 40 years brings an added dimension of expertise to the matters over which he presides.
In 2013, Mr. Byrne was selected by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the former Administrator of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, to assist in the mediation and resolution of Hurricane Sandy claims. He was also asked to join a sub-panel for the United States District Court to help resolve a backload of over 1,400 Hurricane Sandy lawsuits. In 2014, Mr. Byrne was selected to join the Mediation and Arbitration Panel of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), one of the country’s most highly regarded providers of ADR services. He is also a member of the Mediation panels for both the United States District Court and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York. In 2016, Mr. Byrne was appointed to serve on the Advisory Council to the ADR Department of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
In 2024, for the tenth year in a row, Mr. Byrne was named one of the Top Three Mediators in the United States by The National Law Journal Best Of Survey. He was ranked a Top Ten Mediator for the tenth consecutive year by the 2023 New York Law Journal Best Of Survey. Additionally, he was voted a Top Three Mediator by the Corporate Counsel Best Of Survey. Mr. Byrne was also named a National Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution Champion, as part of a select nationwide group.
Mr. Byrne has been awarded the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Rating AV® Preeminent, its highest rating available for ethics and legal ability, and has consistently been recognized by his peers as a New York Metro Super Lawyer.
Mr. Byrne is available to mediate cases throughout the United States.
LECTURES and PUBLICATIONS
■ Speaker, Resolving Coverage Disputes in Mediation, webinar, Practising Law Institute (PLI), 2023
■ Co-presenter, NAM Academy: Inside the Mind of the Mediator: Avoiding Impasse and Maximizing Outcomes in Mediation, webinar presented by NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), 2022
■ Speaker, The Means and Methods of Resolving Coverage Disputes in Mediation, Lawline, 2021
■ Speaker, The Do’s and Don’ts of Virtual ADR, webinar presented to Chubb, 2021
■ Author, The Virtues of Virtual Alternative Dispute Resolution, New York Real Estate Journal (NYREJ), 2021
■ Author, Construction Defect Claims: A Mediator's Perspective, Defense Association of New York (DANY), Defendant, Winter Edition, 2021
■ Speaker, ADR Committee Meeting featuring Hon. John P. DiBlasi (Ret.) and Richard P. Byrne, Esq., with the New York County Lawyers Association, 2020
■ Panel Member, The Mediators Speak - Mediating in the Virtual World, webinar presented to the CLM Construction Conference, 2020
■ Speaker, Inside the Mind of a Mediator: Avoiding and Maximizing Outcomes in Mediation, webinar presented to DANY (Defense Association of New York), 2020
■ Speaker, Resolving Coverage Disputes in Mediation, webinar presented to Corporate Counsel Business Journal (CCBJ), 2020
■ Speaker, Reduce Time & Cost: Crafting Effective Arbitration Clauses, webinar presented to Clear Law Institute, 2020
■ Author, Back to the Future – Where Does Mediation Go From Here?, Law.com, 2020
■ Panel Member, The Means and Methods of Resolving Coverage Disputes in Mediation, webinar presented to the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2020
■ Panel Member, Resolving Coverage Disputes in Mediation, webinar presented to the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
■ CCBJ Interview, Coming Face-To-Face with Virtual Alternative Dispute Resolution, Corporate Counsel Business Journal, 2020
■ Speaker, An Introduction to the Use of Video Conferencing for Arbitration and Mediation and Its Benefits, webinar presented by NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), 2020
■ Author, The Virtues of Virtual ADR, New York Law Journal, 2020
■ Author, Conditional and Alternative Demands/Offers Can Often Make the Difference in Mediation, New York Law Journal, 2020
■ Speaker, Crafting Arbitration Clauses: How Specificity Reduces Dispute Time and Costs, presented to Pryor Cashman, LLP, 2019
■ Co-Author, The Benefits of Early Mediation: The Path Least Taken Requires Commitment (with Hon. Peter B. Skelos (Ret.), New York Law Journal ADR Special Report, 2019
■ Author, The Role of Humor in Mediation – No Laughing Matter!, New York Law Journal, 2019
■ Speaker, Mediating Construction Defect Claims, presented to Vela Insurance Services, 2019
■ Speaker/Panel Member, Inside the Mind of a Mediator: Avoiding Impasse and Maximizing Outcomes in Mediation, Association of Corporate Counsel – New York City Chapter, Signature CLE, 2019
■ Speaker, Mediating Construction Defect Claims and Delay Claims, presented to Troutman Sanders LLP, 2019
■ Speaker/Panel Member, In Mediation, You Gotta Have (Good) Faith, ACC-NYC Ethics Marathon, 2019
■ Author, Speak to Your Mediator – Early and Often!, New York Law Journal, 2019
