Nancy Kramer, Esq. is an experienced and highly regarded mediator, arbitrator and facilitator known for her attention to the issues presented by diverse parties and her flexibility and tenacity to work through them. She conducts virtual and hybrid mediation and arbitration hearings as well as traditional in-person sessions.

Adept at bridging gaps in communication, identifying obstacles to settlement, and pursuing creative solutions to complex issues, Ms. Kramer has mediated hundreds of cases with an emphasis on employment, business/commercial, co-op/condo, real estate, family law, and educational institution matters. She is a member of the JAMS Title IX panel and has handled numerous other higher education matters.

Ms. Kramer has extensive experience in the facilitation of conflicts. She has successfully resolved disputes in this manner with several commercial, academic, and not-for-profit groups. She has facilitated personnel, leadership, communication, and workplace culture problems that involved broader groups of people and issues than are typically seen in traditional mediation. The facilitation process often includes collective sessions, private meetings, and interviews with involved parties. The facilitation can result in a report to the board or other governance, a position paper, an informal agreement, or an oral report. Facilitation varies enormously in structure and length depending on the circumstances and can be very successful in improving group dynamics.

Ms. Kramer is a member of the FINRA Dispute Resolution Panels (arbitration and mediation); New York County Supreme Court Commercial Division ADR Roster; United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Mediation Panel and United States Postal Service Mediation Panel. She served for ten years as Special Master for the Appellate Division, First Department and was a recent Chair of the New York City Bar Association ADR Committee.

Because she believes in contributing to the community, Ms. Kramer has been tutoring in an adult literacy program for a number of years.

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Arbitrated action brought by an escrow agent (a law firm) seeking a declaratory judgment from a borrower and the lender that it had properly complied with the escrow agreement. Fiduciary responsibility and gross negligence definitions were key issues
• Arbitrated several breach of contract cases brought by a major technology consulting firm
• Mediated a fashion related dispute between a denim clothing manufacturer and fabric supplier regarding issues related to color, texture and grade variations that the manufacturer found unacceptable and claimed delayed delivery of their products
• Mediated a three-party dispute between a hospital, supplier of body tissue used for skin grafts, and the party responsible for a refrigeration unit, used for storage of body tissue, which failed to perform at regulated temperatures
• Mediated claims brought by a successful art photographer against a company hired to build custom art shipping boxes involving claims for damages when the custom boxes were not provided on time and resulted in missing numerous deadlines for delivery of art
• Mediated contract claims between a school board and its contractor for snow removal regarding whether snow had been removed timely and to specifications
• Mediated a heated dispute between a sister and a brother who had long been co-investors until sister married late in life
• Mediated the dissolution of a small law firm where bitter feelings had kept two partners from reaching an agreement
• Construction
• Mediated a multi-party construction dispute involving change orders, and defect and delay claims, that allegedly increased costs and delayed the opening of a restaurant in a shopping mall
• Real Estate & Real Property
Co-op/Condo

• Mediated multiple disputes between co-op/condominium boards and residents over financial issues, renovations, roof access, maintenance costs related to repairs, use of premises, and neighbor/owner disputes over noise, cigarette smoke, objectionable cooking odors, unfriendly/hostile language, and disputes regarding the parties responsible for repairs and property damage arising from various sources including cracked drainpipes
• Mediated claims brought by a not-for-profit theater, a tenant of a residential/commercial property, against the condominium's Commercial, Residential and Condominium Boards of Managers to resolve issues and costs related to sewage and venting
• Mediated claims of disability discrimination by shareholder with counterclaim by co-op of breach of lease
• Mediated claim by shareholder in high-income, high-visibility co-op that extensive building renovations had made her apartment uninhabitable for months 
• Mediated claims against an owner that purchased a condo unit as an investment and allegedly used the unit for commercial use as a bed and breakfast (B&B) in violation of the condo bylaws 
General

• Mediated a commercial lease dispute regarding non-payment of rent due to the lessee’s purported lack of business based on allegedly misleading representations by lessor
• Mediated a dispute that arose after a commercial building owner died and the family member that inherited the property initially refused to continue renting to the successful bar/restaurant that had thrived at that location for years – with both the building owner and restaurant owner amicably tolerating building violations and renovations throughout their long-term lease – even though the restaurant owner was willing to pay the new owner a substantial rent increase in order to stay and work through which parties would be responsible for bringing violations up to code
• Mediated eviction and discrimination case involving family of severely autistic adult and the not-for-profit which provided housing, an autism organization itself run by a family composed in part of two severely autistic adults 
• Employment Law
• Mediated hundreds of complex business/commercial disputes involving Fortune 500 companies, independent government agencies and a wide range of industries including fashion, manufacturing, recruitment, securities and technology. Issues involved breach of contract (non-compete, non-solicitation and non-disparagement clauses), sexual harassment and assault, executive compensation, wrongful termination, discrimination (race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin), severance benefits, failure to promote, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Arbitrated cases involving claims of non-compliance with suggested COVID-19 precautions during the pandemic resulting in an unsafe workplace
• Arbitrated cases involving status of workers as employees or independent contractors
• Arbitrated or mediated cases of alleged ADA discrimination on the grounds of depression; visual impairment; hearing impairment; and susceptibility to COVID-19
• Mediated case brought by ex-employee claiming discrimination against him as the sole Caucasian employee in a workplace. Several weeks after the initial session, the employee failed to locate and produce e-mails that substantiated his claims of being taunted by co-employees and complaining to management. This led to plaintiff and his attorney reconsidering a previous offer from defendant, resulting in an agreement to settle
• Mediated a non-solicitation matter involving “poaching” allegations that an employee of a software technology company left for a bigger tech company, took customer data for use at the bigger company, and approached employees about possible hire at that company
• Mediated claims brought by three hearing-impaired employees with different degrees of impairment against the employer for failure to distinguish between their varying needs and make reasonable accommodations; after mediation with a sign interpreter, a tiered accommodation was structured
• Mediated numerous Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases – group and individual
• Mediated a breach of contract and confidentiality provision dispute for which the employer, which sought the mediation, had held up scheduled payments to all employees in a FLSA matter
• Facilitated end to a conflict between the department chair and the department faculty at a major state college who were at odds over the style and substance of the chair's leadership
• Facilitated resolution of conflict between two employees of a house of worship stemming from unclear job descriptions and clashing personalities 
• Facilitated clash of personalities and duties at foreign consulate 
• Estate/Probate/Trust
• Mediated a multi-state probate lawsuit between the surviving parent and children regarding the disposition of the estate
• Mediated a complex estate matter between contentious spouses and children of multiple marriages regarding the allocation of rights and revenues stemming from the deceased’s development of a successful aviation technology
• Family Law
• Mediated numerous family law cases involving divorce and separation agreements, child support agreements, and modifications to agreements
• Mediated modifications to various agreements between same-sex couples
• Higher Education & Title IX
• Handled an emergency arbitration which dealt with a commission’s failure to renew the accreditation of a for-profit college
• As a Title IX hearing officer, reviewed evidence and conducted supplemental hearing to determine if university had followed its published procedures and had acted fairly in its fact-finding investigation
• Facilitated full-day session, with breakout sessions, for a college department resulting in the establishment of improved communication/coordination procedures
• Facilitated, for a not-for-profit advocacy organization, the re-evaluation of its personnel structure and proposed changes to the same, which resulted in a substantially more productive staff
• Facilitated, for a law school team, efforts in getting education leaders in one state to develop a common position paper for government leaders despite very different educational priorities and preferences
• Personal Injury & Tort
• Arbitrated claim of consumer who rented a car in which drugs that were unknown to him were found after routine police stop. This resulted in criminal arrests for him and his wife and expensive and traumatic legal proceedings to get the charges dismissed. Rental company disclaimed liability and allegedly refused to give claimant access to necessary documents and witnesses 
• Mediated numerous matters involving accidents (auto, construction/New York Labor Law, slip and fall), and catastrophic injury
• Professional Liability
• Mediated claims of wrongful death brought against physicians, hospitals, and blood banks
• Mediated legal malpractice claims that an attorney failed to advise a client who was purchasing a restaurant of appropriate state laws that increased costs and delayed the restaurant opening under new management
• Mediated law firm dissolution with potential claims of sexual harassment threatened against partner
• Securities
• Arbitrated multiple broker/dealer disputes and customer claims regarding not following instructions, churning, and breach of fiduciary duty
• Arbitrated numerous remuneration issues brought by securities industry employees
• Arbitrated expungement claims brought by exonerated brokers to revise their public records
• Mediated numerous cases involving financial institutions with repayment or other contract violation claims against past employees

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council, Pilot Mediator Incubator Program, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York (EDNY), appointed 2022
• Member, FINRA Dispute Resolution Panels (arbitration and mediation)
• Member, New York Supreme Court Commercial Division ADR Roster
• Member, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Roster of Mediators 
• Member, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Advisory Panel
• Member, Redress Panel, ADR program of United States Postal Service, since inception in 1998
• Special Master, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, Supreme Court of the State of New York, 2005-2015
• Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS
• Member, New York City Bar Association President's Committee, 2018-2021
• Member, New York City Bar Association Co-op and Condo Committee, 2018-2021
• Chair, New York City Bar Association, ADR Committee, 2015-2018
• Member, New York State Bar Association, Mediation Committee
• Former Panel Member, American Arbitration Association
• Former Panel Member, Resolute
• Speaker on a variety of ADR topics for American Bar Association, Brooklyn Bar Association, Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums, CPR, Lawline.com, Nassau County Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, New York City Corporation Counsel, New York County Lawyers Association, New York State Attorney General's Office, New York State Bar Association, New York State Dispute Resolution Association, Association for Conflict Resolution – Greater New York Chapter (ACR-GNY), Practising Law Institute, Touro Law School, and several psychoanalytic institutes

Publications

• “A JAMS Q&A Session: Shining the Spotlight on Nancy Kramer, Esq.,” JAMS ADR Insights, September 6, 2023
• “Taking Conference Calls to the Next Level, Virtually,” JAMS ADR Insights, February 2, 2021
• "Co-Op and Condo Disputes: Mediation Offers Flexible Quick Solutions," New York Law Journal, October 1, 2019
• "Co-Mediating – Giving It a Chance," New York Law Journal, March 18, 2019
• “Timing: An Overlooked Component of a Successful Mediation,” Law 360, October 29, 2015
• "Storm Sandy – Mediation Like No Other," mediate.com, December 2013
• "Tip Sheet on Selecting a Mediator," mediate.com, December 2011
• "An Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution for the LGBT Community," white paper of New York State Bar Association, January 2011
• "How to Best Represent Your Client at Mediation: A Tip Sheet," mediate.com, May 2010
• "Are Agreements to Mediate Necessary? Yes!" mediate.com, June 2008
• "Mediate Co-op Disputes," Letter to the Editor, The New York Times, May 2007
• "Taking the High Road," mediate.com, August 2006
• "The Same but Different: Mediating Separations of Same-Sex Couples," ACResolution, Summer 2005
• "Do You Have a Picture of Jamie? How and Why This Works in Mediation," mediate.com, February 2003

Background and Education

• Nancy Kramer Mediation & Other Dispute Resolution Services, solo neutral practice, 2005-2015
• Special Counsel to New York State Trial Lawyers Association, 1998-2004
• Private practice as Administrative Law Judge, mediator, appellate brief writing, 1997-1998
• Director of Professional Programs, NYU Real Estate Institute, 1995-1997
• Deputy Bureau Chief & Bureau Chief, New York State Attorney General's Office, 1982-1995
• Executive Director of Committee for Public Justice, 1979-1982
• General Counsel, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), 1973-1979
• General Counsel, Council on the Environment of New York City, 1972-1973
• Associate, Moore, Berson, Hamburg & Bernstein, 1970-1971
• Assistant Regional Counsel, United States Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), 1969-1970
• Assistant Director, Manhattan Bowery Project, 1968-1969
• Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society, 1966-1968
• J.D., with honors, Columbia Law School, 1966
• B.F.A., Brandeis University, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1963