An innovative and visionary leader, Michele Kern-Rappy, Esq. is a highly respected mediator with more than 35 years of experience as the Senior Mediator and Settlement Coordinator for the NYS Unified Court System. Successfully mediating more than 6,500 commercial and civil cases covering a wide range of complex matters, her highly acclaimed approach is marked by persistence, patience, and impartiality to produce superior levels of case resolution.

ABOUT

With more than 35 years of experience as the principal mediator for the NY state unified court system, Michele Kern-Rappy, Esq., is a seasoned veteran whom clients can trust to optimize their settlement success rate. Having developed the court’s unique and award-winning mediation program, she has mediated more than 6,500 commercial and civil disputes as an authority in such areas as premises liability and construction, labor law, personal injury, insurance coverage, malpractice, product liability, commercial litigation, employment law, partnership, and family business.

A highly-skilled and renowned professional in her field, Ms. Kern-Rappy offers private lawyers a robust and purposeful approach to mediation that she has finely honed during her extensive career. Bringing an elevated level of trust, tenacity, and transparency to each case she referees, Ms. Kern-Rappy is well recognized and respected as a proficient and dynamic mediator with an enviable settlement rate.

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5

years of
experience

1000

civil disputes
mediated

15 %

settlement
rate

Tenacity, creativity, and trust are hallmarks of Ms. Kern-Rappy’s approach to mediation

Areas of Expertise

Commercial

Contract disputes, partnership or corporation disputes, shareholder disputes, class action suits

Premises Liability

Personal injuries stemming from all kinds of hazardous conditions on property

Personal Injury

Construction accidents, automobile accidents, medical malpractice, traumatic brain injury, complex  products liability, legal malpractice

Employment

Discrimination, leave, hostile work environment, noncompetes, retaliation, harassment, wage and overtime, whistleblower, wrongful termination

Real Estate

Litigation concerning commercial and residential properties, including cooperatives and condominiums

Family-Owned Business

Provides creative solutions to contract disputes and unfair competition and other torts

Divorce Mediation

Equitable distribution, spousal support, child support, parenting and time sharing.

Trusts and Estates Mediation

Managing complex family issues

Profile

Award-Winning Expertise and a Deep Bench of Experience

With more than 35 years’ experience as sole mediator in NY state’s unified court system, Ms. Kern-Rappy has successfully mediated over 6,500 disputes resolving a wide variety of complex litigation. Her persistence, patience, and meticulous attention to detail define how she approaches each case at every stage of conflict resolution. Ms. Kern-Rappy is especially skilled at multi-defendant mediation where her exceptional case research ethic is thoroughly applied to each party.

A visionary leader and role model, Ms. Kern-Rappy established the widely acclaimed mediation non-jury (Med-NJ) program early in her court career, earning her own chambers and developing the rules that provided direction to the initiative. As the only mediator and settlement coordinator in this unique program, Ms. Kern-Rappy served 60 Supreme Court judges in NYC and their staff, providing mediation strategy, counsel, and mentorship.

Ms. Kern-Rappy has co-chaired the NYS Bar Association Advocacy Committee as well as the ADR Section of the NY Women’s Bar Association. During her tenure with the NY Supreme Court, she served on the prestigious Chief Judge’s ADR Task Force, was the Court’s sole mediator with law interns from schools throughout the state and conducted Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)-related training with the Administrative Judge and the Bar.

With a strong interest in mediator work/life balance and mindfulness, Ms. Kern-Rappy created the highly acclaimed courthouse yoga and meditation program for NYS Justices and staff. She continues to train and mentor lawyers, students, and other professionals, and is a popular speaker and author in the mediation arena.

Clients can count on a rigorous and strategic roadmap to mediation that optimizes settlement success

Approach

The Standard for Optimal Mediation Results

Successful strategies for interest-based mediation require a clear and systematic process. Ms. Kern-Rappy has developed — and trademarked — such a step-based, transparent and methodological approach entitled R.A.I.S.E.™

RAISE creates a change in thinking from litigation to mediation, facilitating a calm and supportive platform in the midst of high conflict

Research, Recognize, Rapport

Active Listening, Acknowledge, Adapt

Insight, Investigate, Interest

Solutions and Strategies

Evolve Evaluate, Elevate, and End in Agreement

Ms. Kern-Rappy offers exceptional skill in case research as well as immaculate preparation, enabling clients to gather and consolidate the information pertinent to their arguments. Her empathic and impartial approach helps opposing parties recognize each other’s goals and interests and builds rapport by encouraging open dialogue and communication.

Evolving a dispute in a goal-oriented way keeps momentum strong while propelling all parties forward and focused on the future

Active listening is at the heart of a good mediator. Ms. Kern-Rappy is exceptionally skilled at nonjudgmental listening and helping parties to a dispute acknowledge opposing viewpoints. Her vast experience mediating thousands of cases has honed her ability to help parties to a conflict shift from an adversarial mindset while adapting to a more collaborative way of communication.

Identifying areas of agreement and disagreement and aligning common interests allows for greater insight into the issues to be resolved, and deeper investigation of the issues. Facilitating goal-driven dialogue enables the process to move forward with trust and optimism.

Keeping focused on the next steps, barriers to settlement are uncovered that enable more productive brainstorming of strategies and solutions.

Throughout the mediation process, even as work proceeds Ms. Kern-Rappy continues to evaluate whether mediation would be fruitful. While new issues may evolve, Ms. Kern-Rappy continues to elevate the discussions from adversarial to collaborative. Throughout the process — however long it takes — Ms. Kern-Rappy forges ahead with patience, creativity, and an unerring commitment to ending in agreement.

Testimonials

You are a tremendous asset to the ADR program and I personally appreciate your willingness to always pitch in and help!
Attorney
We are so grateful to you all for your hard work. And I am just in awe of your leader, Ms. Kern-Rappy, who is a rock star.
Supreme Court Justice
I like your approach to mediation. While this case might be one that is virtually impossible to mediate, you made better progress than I ever could have expected. I love that the focus is interests-based and not positions-cased. It’s a more effective and productive approach to negotiation. Since our initial session, I have approached negotiations with opposing counsel in other cases by trying to employ the basic approach you use, which is: look, we probably won’t get too far trying to persuade each other of our legal or factual positions, but let’s try to collaboratively achieve a resolution to the case by focusing on an outcome each of our clients can live with. I just settled a case on the eve of an appellate brief due by using your approach.
Commercial Litigator
Thank you so very much for including me. It was a pleasure to participate and to learn from the others. Thank you so much for your remarkable work in so many spaces!
NYS Supreme Court Judge
This was a challenging case involving a tort action based on a violation of Labor Law in which both liability and damages were strongly contested. Ms. Kern-Rappy provided a well-reasoned, professional, and even-handed approach. When the matter did not resolve the first session, she had us return multiple times, continually making progress until the case was settled. While both myself and defense counsel were prepared to see the case through to verdict, Referee Kern-Rappy worked diligently to chip away and find common ground which resulted in a resolution.
Attorney, Premises Liability
Thank you for the most productive mediation on this case. I am sure it would not have settled but for the time and attention given by you to our case.
Attorney
The within matter was a Labor Law case with disputed liability and damages. Initial positioning in the case by the parties resulted in a wide impasse, which looked insurmountable.Through the patience, professionalism and perseverance of Mediator Kern-Rappy, this case was settled after six sessions. Ms. Kern-Rappy also rearranged her schedule at various times when it appeared pushes were required and also worked with plaintiff's counsel to allow their client direct access to the negotiations, while repeatedly communicating with both the undersigned and my client's financial parties of interest. Were it not for her perseverance, there is no way this case would have settled.
Attorney
Your efforts to mediate and eventually settle this case are greatly appreciated! When this matter was submitted to mediation with your program, I was not hopeful that it would resolve as there were multiple defendants, all of whom seemed to have their own agenda. Through your efforts and the time spent with each of the parties you were able to identify the issues and bring about a settlement in an efficient and expeditious manner. All too often mediators do not put in the extra effort needed to resolve a case. You did, and for that I am appreciative.
Insurance Company Attorney
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CONTACT

Office of Michele Kern-Rappy
Dispute Resolution, PLLC
T: 914.646.4259
E: michele@michelekernrappy.com
Office of Resolute Systems, LLC
370 Lexington Avenue, Suite 702
New York, New York 10017
T: 212.967.6799
E: mkern-rappy@resolutesystems.com

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