NAM Neutral Perspective – A Conversation with Judge Lubell
NAM Neutral Perspective | October 07, 2026
NAM has welcomed the Hon. Lewis J. Lubell (Ret.) to its panel of neutrals, bringing his impressive background and decades of judicial experience to NAM's clients. In this edition of NAM Neutral Perspective, we spoke with Judge Lubell about how more than two decades on the Supreme Court bench and a decade as a trial attorney shape his approach as a neutral, the personal style he brought to matrimonial matters, his advice for attorneys preparing for mediation and arbitration, and what drew him to join NAM's panel.
During your more than two decades on the Supreme Court bench, you handled an exceptionally broad range of civil matters. How will that breadth of experience shape your approach to mediation and arbitration?
With such a breadth of experience, it allows me to not be limited to one subject matter and gives me the benefit of a much broader viewpoint. With more than twenty years on the bench, I handled everything from complex commercial and construction disputes to medical malpractice, insurance, product liability, and matrimonial matters. Having sat with that range of cases means I can look at a dispute from more than one angle instead of through a single narrow lens, and that's the same perspective I bring to mediation and arbitration.
Before taking the bench, you spent more than a decade as a trial attorney handling medical malpractice, product liability, serious personal injury, commercial, and insurance matters. How does having viewed litigation from both the advocate's and the judge's perspective inform your work as a neutral?
I have walked in everyone's shoes, and I have a deep appreciation for the challenges they face. I have been on the defense side, the plaintiff side, and I've been the overseeing judge. That kind of perspective doesn't come from reading a file — it comes from having actually stood in each of those positions. When I sit as a neutral now, I understand what it takes to prepare a case as an advocate, and I also understand what a judge needs to see to move a case toward resolution. That combination is something I bring to every mediation and arbitration.
You served as Supervising Judge for Matrimonial Matters throughout the 9th Judicial District. What approaches have you found most effective when resolving disputes involving deeply personal issues, heightened emotions, and ongoing relationships?
I had a very specific way of handling these matters. I took my robe off and sat at the table with the parties and had a conversation with them. I made sure that it felt like a personal experience, not just a proceeding. How can these people getting divorced trust me to have oversight of such personal matters if I've never had a glass of water with them? These are people at one of the hardest points in their lives, and they deserve to feel like the person deciding their case actually sees them. This is the approach that is natural in a mediation, and I look forward to bringing that same, more personal approach to finding resolutions.
Having lectured extensively on trial advocacy, expert testimony, medical malpractice, and evidentiary issues, what advice would you give attorneys preparing for mediation or arbitration?
Be prepared. Know the pitfalls of your case. Know your opponent's case just as well. Too often, attorneys walk in having only thought through their strongest points and haven't honestly assessed where they're vulnerable. Most importantly, come ready to settle. We can't have a meaningful conversation if you come to the table completely unwilling to compromise. Mediation and arbitration only work when both sides are willing to give a little to get somewhere.
How would you describe your personal approach to dispute resolution, and what can parties and counsel expect when appearing before you?
That I'm going to be fair. That I will be open to both sides of the dispute and will understand the merits and pitfalls of both sides. My job is to find a resolution that is fair for everyone, not to hand a win to one party. Everyone will be pleased with some aspects, and everyone is going to be unhappy with some of it. If both sides feel that way, that usually tells me we found something close to a fair result.
What drew you to join NAM's panel, and what do you find most meaningful about beginning this next stage of your career as a mediator and arbitrator?
NAM has a great reputation, and I would often hear from people who appeared before me that, if they chose to move the dispute to mediation, that they were going to NAM. That came up again and again, from litigants and attorneys alike, and it told me something about how NAM is regarded in this field. I wanted to be with the best, and NAM has the greatest inventory of neutrals. I want to be a part of that great roster of neutrals as I begin this next stage of my career.
About Judge Lubell
The Hon. Lewis J. Lubell is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York with over two decades of judicial experience presiding over complex civil, matrimonial, medical malpractice, commercial, construction, insurance, product liability, personal injury, real estate, zoning, foreclosure, and contract matters. During his judicial tenure, Justice Lubell conducted trials, mediations, arbitrations, settlement conferences, and other proceedings throughout New York's 9th Judicial District, Bronx County, and New York County. Judge Lubell is available to arbitrate and mediate cases throughout New York.
About NAM
NAM is a premier provider of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services, delivering efficiency and results to clients throughout the U.S. and globally. Through its market-leading technology and secure virtual and hybrid forums, NAM offers a streamlined alternative to traditional litigation. With an exceptional roster of neutrals and concierge-level case administration, NAM is the ADR partner of choice for over 10,000 commercial entities and half the Fortune 100.