Loretta has over 40 years’ experience litigating complex commercial, construction, and employment disputes; and in the last 20, serving as an arbitrator or mediator in over 300 cases. Formerly a Partner at Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP and Chair of the firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, her experience most often involved disputes in commercial, contract, insurance, intellectual property, trade secrets, securities, employment, business ownership, real property, and commercial, industrial and residential construction matters and domestic and international arbitration and mediation. She has been recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in America in Arbitration, became a Fellow of the elite College of Commercial Arbitrators in 2024, was named by Long Island Business News as one of the Top 50 Business Women in 2005 and 2013, “Who’s Who” in Women Professional Services in 2010 and 2021, and Long Island Power Woman in Business in 2018. She is the Chair-Elect of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association. She was invited by the AAA to join its arbitration panels in 2005 and soon after trained as a mediator in 2011, serving the AAA and Commercial Division Courts in many New York counties.
Read on as Gastwirth discusses her approach to mediation.
Q: What motivated you to pursue mediation, and were there personal influences or professional experiences that shaped your path to joining the AAA?
Gastwirth: Seasoned litigators and trial lawyers are keenly aware of the value of a litigation case and its likelihood of success and recovery. Earning the trust and confidence of clients with candid assessments, my recommendation to mediate becomes the most practical and valuable solution I give to clients to avoid years of litigation and wasted resources. My experience as a seasoned litigator and service to clients for decades provides me with invaluable insight that guides me in my work as an arbitrator and mediator. I have modeled my engagement as a mediator based on the work of strong and experienced AAA mediators I have retained in my litigations.
Q: What do you value most about serving as a mediator with the AAA, and what aspects of the work do you find most meaningful for the parties you serve?
Gastwirth: From early on in my mediation career, I had the good fortune of serving as an AAA mediator in many construction disputes pursuant to "mediate first" clauses in AIA contracts. My role with the AAA has grown expansively beyond construction, mediating commercial, employment and consumer disputes, both domestic and international. I greatly appreciate the experienced, dedicated service the AAA provides to assist mediators, counsel and parties. Most of my mediations resolve, but even in those instances where resolution was not possible, I have always been inspired by the heartfelt thanks from lawyers and parties for giving them the opportunity to be heard and for my patience, empathy, and perseverance in trying to achieve a resolution.
Q: How has your previous experience as an attorney, arbitrator, judge, or in another professional role shaped your approach to mediation?
Gastwirth: My approach to mediation is informed by my years as a litigator and trial lawyer. To be successful, you must be prepared, know the facts and law, understand the parties' points of view, and gain a working knowledge of a party's industry or business. This same preparedness as a mediator demonstrates to parties and counsel that you are investing in their matter and allows you to gain their trust and confidence in helping them to resolve their dispute.
Q: How do you approach the mediation process, and what strategies do you use to help parties move from conflict toward resolution?
Gastwirth: Most cases settle, and the question is whether a case will settle before enormous cost and time-consuming efforts are expended during litigation, arbitration or at trial. "Businesspeople make business decisions," and a mediator best serves the parties in helping them reach that most efficient, cost-effective and successful resolution that businesspeople seek. A good mediator is familiar with litigation costs and the time and expense of litigation. That does not just include counsel's time and expense, but often more importantly, the parties' time and attention diverted from their businesses. The parties in mediation have flexibility to negotiate and design their settlement to meet their business needs – payouts, future conduct, etc. – that might not otherwise be available in arbitration or litigation. To be effective, mediators must understand the industry and business in which the parties are engaged and have a keen understanding of the applicable law, counsel's arguments, and the parties' likelihood of success on the issues presented in litigation. A good mediator must have the ability to listen, be empathetic, be challenging, and be tenacious to reach a resolution. Mediation will more likely end in a successful resolution when the parties themselves believe they have had an opportunity to be heard and understood and can evaluate the merits of their claims and risks and rewards of litigation or arbitration.
Q: Without breaching confidentiality, can you share a moment or case in your mediation work that was especially rewarding or that highlighted the strengths of the process
Gastwirth: My mediations most often resolve in a single day - albeit a very long one. However, I served as a mediator in a construction matter with more than 50 change orders and claims of delays, defective work, incomplete plans and drawings, etc. The matter was mediated over many days throughout a year with construction continuing, and with the parties committed to complete the project while they negotiated. At least a dozen or more consultants, experts, subcontractors, and project managers from different time zones provided information in joint mediation sessions via ZOOM, with the parties resolving portions of their dispute, and then, finally, the entire matter. Keeping the parties together for so long and knowing that a wonderful building was completed was most rewarding to me, counsel, and the parties.
Q: What advice would you give to advocates or parties preparing for mediation—whether in terms of mindset, process, or practical preparation?
Ichel: "Prime" your mediator - fill the mediator with important facts and law so that the mediator is fully prepared to work with counsel and the parties during the mediation. Engage in a thorough joint session exploring the facts and law so that you and your clients can develop a more comprehensive understanding of the entirety of the dispute. Give your clients an opportunity to be heard at a mediation so they feel that resolution and closure in mediation is better than waiting years for a judge or arbitrator to hear their side of the story. Speak candidly to your clients to develop a range of settlement values and settlement strategy before the mediation so that they are prepared to negotiate on the day of the mediation without delay. Be sure to bring the decision-makers with you to the mediation.
Q: Have you noticed any trends or shifts in the use of mediation, the types of disputes, or in parties’ expectations in recent years?
Gastwirth: More and more mediations are conducted via ZOOM and for good reason. It allows parties to bring in consultants, accountants, project managers, insurance representatives and others to assist them in resolving the matter without them spending all day in a conference room at great cost to a party and without them having to travel (often from out-of-state) to attend a mediation. ZOOM mediations are cost-effective - there is no room rental fee or travel expense. They also have the great advantage of allowing parties to share and highlight documents effectively, especially large construction plans or excel spreadsheets. The breakout rooms are convenient to moving parties, counsel and the mediator through private caucuses. Given the widespread use of ZOOM and the cost reduction in mediations, there is almost no excuse not to mediate a matter any longer.
Q: Which skills or qualities do you believe are most essential for a successful mediator, and how have you cultivated them?
Gastwirth: Preparedness is key to being a successful mediator; but equally important is honing your interpersonal skills and situational awareness. You must understand and work with the many different personalities of counsel and clients that come to mediation so that you can gain their trust, respect, and confidence. It is important to be empathetic, but also challenge assumptions held by counsel and parties so that they can move towards resolution. These insights were developed over years of working as a mediator and provided me with the confidence needed to help parties resolve their matters in so many different circumstances.
Q: Outside of your professional work, what activities, causes, or passions are important to you?
Gastwirth: I dedicate a substantial portion of my time to promoting alternative dispute resolution. I am currently serving as Chair-Elect of the Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. In those roles, I help create or organize educational programs to promote the use of arbitration and mediation. I also enjoy mentoring new ADR practitioners. I do admit that my guilty pleasures are the spare time that I spend on the pickleball courts or playing golf with friends.