20 USA Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2022 “I measure my success by adding value to the parties I am working with, whether that is by helping the parties to find a consensual resolution in a difficult case by way of mediation, or by helping parties to focus and strategise their cases more effectively by doing a neutral evaluation for them, or coming to a just result in an arbitration.” and negotiated with other senators over legislative language in a bill. I always enjoyed that process. Then, once I was on the federal court, I would often help parties resolve cases that were pending before my colleagues, or my own cases. What led me to ultimately leave the federal court and focus on a full-time practice of alternative dispute resolution was the Detroit bankruptcy in 2013 and 2014. I was appointed the judicial mediator in the case. This was the largest municipal bankruptcy in history with almost $20 billion in debt and dozens upon dozens of creditors, as well as an enormous impact on the residents of Detroit and the greater state of Michigan. We were able to mediate a fully consensual settlement of the case within just 16 months – which might sound like a long time, but in the municipal bankruptcy world that is warp speed. There is much more I could say about the Detroit bankruptcy, but it was a very complex case and a very intense experience, working with the city and the state, dozens of creditors and of course the court.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz