Rob Harris
Robert.Harris@PositivelyNeutral.com
(914) 482-2448
I work with attorneys and their clients to arbitrate and mediate complex and challenging business and employment disputes, often (but certainly not always) in the financial services arena.
I have particular experience with disputes between owners, principals, and senior executives of hedge funds, private equity firms, and other asset management companies.
I spent over two decades as a commercial litigator, followed by senior in-house counsel roles for financial services companies, including a multinational hedge fund administrator servicing some of the industry’s largest and most complex investment funds and asset managers, where I served as General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and was part of the senior management team that took the company from startup to successful exit.
After living both sides of the corporate dynamic—as a senior executive with contractual rights, equity interests, and employment obligations, and as the lawyer responsible for managing those very issues for others—I aspire to bring an understanding of the commercial realities, relationship dynamics, and reputational concerns that drive these disputes.
Within the investment management and financial services industries, I regularly arbitrate and mediate disputes involving:
• Ownership transitions and business divorces involving private equity and hedge funds, asset managers and principals
• Employment and compensation disputes for senior executives and profit-sharing arrangements
• Non-compete and non-solicitation enforcement
• Breaches of fiduciary duties and usurpation of opportunities
• Complex carried interest and waterfall calculations
• Management succession and control issues
• Mergers, acquisitions, and joint venture disputes
• Fundraising, placement agents and capital markets
Of course, having served as a neutral for many years, my ADR work encompasses other areas as well. To help you determine whether my experience aligns with your specific needs, I’ve included a list of matters where I have been asked in recent years to serve as an arbitrator or mediator.
Organizational Involvement and Credentials
American Arbitration Association: I have served as an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association for more than two decades. In addition to serving on its general Commercial and Employment panels, I participate on two specialty panels highly relevant to financial services disputes:
- Large Complex Cases
- Mergers and Acquisitions and Joint Ventures
I also serve on the AAA-ICDR Financial Services Advisory Committee, concerned with shaping best practices for the resolution of financial industry disputes.
FINRA Neutral: Member of FINRA’s mediation and arbitration panels
Additional Professional Recognition
- Diplomate member, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
- Inaugural member, Association of Commercial and Transactional ADR Professionals (ACT-ADR)—an organization of dispute resolution professionals with in-depth expertise in corporate, transactional, and financial matters
- Recipient, Honorable Robert C. Zampano Award for Excellence in Mediation
- Best Lawyers in America (Mediation)
- Former Chair, Connecticut Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
Learn More
For a detailed look at additional background information and recent matters, please review my:
• Arbitration and Mediation Profile
• Recent Arbitrations and Mediations
• Client Feedback
• Quarterly Newsletter and Publications
I’m happy to provide references from attorneys who have worked with me, and I welcome the opportunity to be considered in this important decision faced by attorneys and their clients.
Rob Harris
Robert.Harris@PositivelyNeutral.com
(914) 482-2448
positivelyneutral.com 