Mediation Arbitration
*Named the "Lawyer of the Year" in this practice area in the 2026 edition in New York City.
Simeon H. Baum
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2005 
Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Simeon H. Baum, President of Resolve Mediation Services, Inc. (www.mediators.com), has successfully mediated over 2,000 disputes. He has been active since 1992 as a neutral in dispute resolution, assuming the roles of mediator, neutral evaluator and arbitrator in a variety of cases, including the highly publicized mediation of the Studio Daniel Libeskind-Silverstein Properties dispute over architectural fees relating to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, Trump’s $ 1 billion suit over the West Side Hudson River development, and Archie Comics’ shareholder/CEO dispute. He was selected for New York Magazine’s 2005 - 2026 “Best Lawyers” and “New York Super Lawyers” listings for ADR, and Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” for ADR in New York for 2011, 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2021; and in the International Who’s Who of Commercial Mediation Lawyers 2012-2021.
An attorney, with 40 years’ experience as a litigator, Mr. Baum has served as a mediator or ADR neutral in a wide variety of matters involving claims concerning business disputes, financial services, securities industry disputes, reinsurance and insurance coverage, property damage and personal injury, malpractice, employment, ERISA benefits, accounting, civil rights, partnership, family business, real property, construction, surety bond defaults, unfair competition, fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy, intellectual property, and commercial claims.
Mr. Baum has a longstanding involvement in Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"). He has served as a neutral for the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York Mediation Panels; New Jersey Superior Court, Civil Part, Statewide; Commercial Division, New York State Supreme Court, New York & Westchester Counties; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern & Eastern Districts of New York; the New York Stock Exchange; National Association of Securities Dealers; the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and CPR, and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN), among others.
Mr. Baum’s peers have appointed him to many key posts: e.g., Member, ADR Advisory Group, Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York County; ADR Advisory Group and Mediation Ethics Advisory Committee, N.Y. State Unified Court System. Founding Chair of the N.Y. State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section, he was also subcommittee chair of the N.Y. State Bar Association’s ADR Committee; Legislative Tracking Subcommittee Chair of the ADR Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association; Charter Member, ABA Dispute Resolution Section Corporate Liaison Committee; Board Member, Federal Bar Association, President, Federal Bar Association’s SDNY Chapter, and Chair of the FBA’s national ADR Section. He is past Chair of the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) Committee on Arbitration and ADR. Besides serving on the NYCLA’s Committee on Committees, he is past Chair of the Joint Committee on Fee Dispute and Conciliation (of NYCLA, ABC NY, and Bronx County Bar Associations), and is on the Board of Governors, NYS Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program. He is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is a Director for the New York NADN panel.
Mr. Baum has shared his enthusiasm for ADR through teaching, training, extensive writing and public speaking. He has taught ADR at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Development, and he teaches Negotiation, and Processes of Dispute Resolution (focusing on Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration) at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He developed and conducts 3-day programs training mediators for the Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York, Queens, and Westchester Counties. He has been a panelist, presenter and facilitator for numerous programs on mediation, arbitration, and ADR for Judges, attorneys, and other professionals. Mr. Baum is a graduate of Colgate University and the Fordham University School of Law.
An attorney, with 40 years’ experience as a litigator, Mr. Baum has served as a mediator or ADR neutral in a wide variety of matters involving claims concerning business disputes, financial services, securities industry disputes, reinsurance and insurance coverage, property damage and personal injury, malpractice, employment, ERISA benefits, accounting, civil rights, partnership, family business, real property, construction, surety bond defaults, unfair competition, fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy, intellectual property, and commercial claims.
Mr. Baum has a longstanding involvement in Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"). He has served as a neutral for the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York Mediation Panels; New Jersey Superior Court, Civil Part, Statewide; Commercial Division, New York State Supreme Court, New York & Westchester Counties; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern & Eastern Districts of New York; the New York Stock Exchange; National Association of Securities Dealers; the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and CPR, and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN), among others.
Mr. Baum’s peers have appointed him to many key posts: e.g., Member, ADR Advisory Group, Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York County; ADR Advisory Group and Mediation Ethics Advisory Committee, N.Y. State Unified Court System. Founding Chair of the N.Y. State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section, he was also subcommittee chair of the N.Y. State Bar Association’s ADR Committee; Legislative Tracking Subcommittee Chair of the ADR Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association; Charter Member, ABA Dispute Resolution Section Corporate Liaison Committee; Board Member, Federal Bar Association, President, Federal Bar Association’s SDNY Chapter, and Chair of the FBA’s national ADR Section. He is past Chair of the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) Committee on Arbitration and ADR. Besides serving on the NYCLA’s Committee on Committees, he is past Chair of the Joint Committee on Fee Dispute and Conciliation (of NYCLA, ABC NY, and Bronx County Bar Associations), and is on the Board of Governors, NYS Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program. He is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is a Director for the New York NADN panel.
Mr. Baum has shared his enthusiasm for ADR through teaching, training, extensive writing and public speaking. He has taught ADR at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Development, and he teaches Negotiation, and Processes of Dispute Resolution (focusing on Negotiation, Mediation and Arbitration) at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He developed and conducts 3-day programs training mediators for the Commercial Division, Supreme Court, New York, Queens, and Westchester Counties. He has been a panelist, presenter and facilitator for numerous programs on mediation, arbitration, and ADR for Judges, attorneys, and other professionals. Mr. Baum is a graduate of Colgate University and the Fordham University School of Law.
Overview
- Hebrew
- Japanese
- Spanish
- Fordham University, J.D., graduated 1983
- Hebrew
- Japanese
- Spanish
- Fordham University, J.D., graduated 1983
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Mediation, New York City (2026)
- Mediation, New York City (2020)
- Mediation, New York City (2018)
- Mediation, New York City (2014)
- Alternative Dispute Resolution, New York City (2011)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Arbitration
- Mediation
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Practice Area
Mr. Baum has a varied background in litigation of a wide variety of matters important to businesses. He has handled commercial and corporate litigation involving securities, real estate, construction, unfair competition, common law fraud, intellectual property, defamation, commercial paper, UCC claims, creditors’ rights, secured transactions, and bankruptcy. He also has experience in disputes relating to partnership dissolutions and accountings.
Mr. Baum has represented business interests from the European Community and the Pacific Rim. In addition to judgments for EC companies, he has obtained a judgment of over $800,000 for a Taiwanese business, and a $4.5 million dollar judgment on behalf of the largest privately held company in Hong Kong.
INSURANCE/REINSURANCE LITIGATIONMr. Baum spent more than three of his years of practice exclusively in the representation of reinsurers in disputes with ceding companies or retrocessionaires. These often complex and high-stakes disputes involved the reinsurance of a variety of types of property and casualty policies, ranging from self-insured retention on retrospectively rated business, workers compensation, general liability, professional liability, and directors and officers coverage, subject to aggregate excess of loss and quota share reinsurance treaties, as well as facultative agreements. For example, Mr. Baum was involved in the successful representation of reinsurers of AIG, seeking rescission of aggregate excess quota share treaties, bearing $50 million in liability, on the ground of, inter alia, misrepresentation of the maximum premium on self-insured retention policies, serving as the trigger of liability under one set of treaties.
PRODUCTS LIABILITY and TORT LITIGATIONEarlier in his legal career, Mr. Baum conducted a number of jury trials in connection with the defense of tort claims ranging from death at a construction site, through wrongful arrest, slip and fall, automobile injuries and property damage. He has been involved in the defense of claims relating to asbestos and other products liability claims.
Mr. Baum has represented business interests from the European Community and the Pacific Rim. In addition to judgments for EC companies, he has obtained a judgment of over $800,000 for a Taiwanese business, and a $4.5 million dollar judgment on behalf of the largest privately held company in Hong Kong.
INSURANCE/REINSURANCE LITIGATIONMr. Baum spent more than three of his years of practice exclusively in the representation of reinsurers in disputes with ceding companies or retrocessionaires. These often complex and high-stakes disputes involved the reinsurance of a variety of types of property and casualty policies, ranging from self-insured retention on retrospectively rated business, workers compensation, general liability, professional liability, and directors and officers coverage, subject to aggregate excess of loss and quota share reinsurance treaties, as well as facultative agreements. For example, Mr. Baum was involved in the successful representation of reinsurers of AIG, seeking rescission of aggregate excess quota share treaties, bearing $50 million in liability, on the ground of, inter alia, misrepresentation of the maximum premium on self-insured retention policies, serving as the trigger of liability under one set of treaties.
PRODUCTS LIABILITY and TORT LITIGATIONEarlier in his legal career, Mr. Baum conducted a number of jury trials in connection with the defense of tort claims ranging from death at a construction site, through wrongful arrest, slip and fall, automobile injuries and property damage. He has been involved in the defense of claims relating to asbestos and other products liability claims.
Your browser is not fully compatible with our automatic printer friendly formatting.
Please use the print button to print this profile page.