Having served on the bench for nearly 20 years, the Honorable Larry S. Schachner (Ret.) has developed an impeccable reputation for his judicial temperament, integrity, and superior settlement skills. He presided over a multitude of cases throughout his time on the bench, including civil rights, contractual construction, construction defect, landlord-tenant, municipal liability, and personal injury matters. As a Hearing Officer for NAM, Judge Schachner has heard a wide range of cases including auto accidents, construction, insurance claims, premises liability, negligence, medical malpractice, dental malpractice, and labor law matters.

Judge Schachner’s substantial experience in mediating cases involving construction has provided him with a valuable understanding of the fundamental issues. He has mediated hundreds of New York Labor Law matters that included an underlying personal injury claim.  Many of these cases included multiple defendants and insurance carriers, as well as construction defects or injuries due to construction. To reach a settlement, a mediator must understand the different trades involved, the work performed, and how the insurance coverage applies to the facts of the case. If these issues among the insurers and defendants cannot be resolved, the case will be unable to be settled. Judge Schachner’s significant experience with these crucial issues is a key factor in his successful resolution of claims.

Judge Schachner has heard a variety of construction-related matters, such as the mediation of a construction defect case involving multiple parties concerning a commercial property, which settled for six figures in 2019. In 2021, he mediated a contractual construction matter with a construction company alleging breach of contract against a homeowner refusing to pay for home improvements, which included multiple change orders, wherein he was able to successfully settle the matter in favor of the plaintiff for a five-figure settlement. Additionally, Judge Schachner handled a two-party mediation that involved a breach of a construction contract and included change orders on a multimillion-dollar residential property.

Judge Schachner’s judicial career began in 1999 when he was appointed Housing Court Judge of the Civil Court. There, he presided over New York City residential landlord-tenant cases, which included non-payments, holdovers, and proceedings involving enforcement of the Multiple Dwelling Law and Housing Maintenance Code. Four years later, Judge Schachner was elected to the Civil Court, where he oversaw a myriad of civil litigation, including negligence, medical malpractice, contracts, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, consumer credit transactions, and small claims matters. Thereafter, he served as a trial judge in the IAS Part, where he adjudicated personal injury actions and issued countless decisions on pending motions.

In 2007, Judge Schachner was appointed Acting Justice of the Supreme Court by the Chief Administrative Judge, Jonathan Lippman, where he presided over the City Part in Bronx County managing an inventory of over 5,000 tort cases. In 2014, Judge Schachner was elected Justice of the Supreme Court where he was assigned to the Special Trial Part in Bronx County. For six years, Judge Schachner was responsible for supervising and handling cases involving the NYC Transit Authority, MTA, and MABSTOA matters, which included motor vehicle, labor law, construction, and train accident cases, and has handled insurance coverage cases involving contractors and subcontractors. He has been rated “Highly Qualified” by the New York State Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission.

Judge Schachner has also acted as a Special Master to supervise discovery and rule on discovery issues in complex litigation cases. His experience on the bench has given him a broad range of knowledge in numerous practice areas, including employment law, maritime law/Jones Act, medical malpractice, municipal liability, and personal injury, including construction, labor law, negligence, premises liability, and product liability, as well as real estate and tort matters.

Judge Schachner was voted a Top Ten Mediator in the 2024 and 2023 New York Law Journal “Best Of” survey. In 2019, for the second year in a row, he was voted a Top Ten Arbitrator in New York State by the survey respondents. Judge Schachner was also named a National Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution Champion, as part of a select group of only 46 nationwide. He is a zealous proponent of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Judge Schachner’s ability to approach matters fairly and in an unbiased manner, combined with his even temperament, makes him extremely well suited to the role of arbitrator/mediator and an excellent choice for both plaintiff and defense counsel.

Judge Schachner is available to arbitrate and mediate cases throughout the New York Metro area.