Norman Solovay

Norman Solovay's present primary focus on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) initially seems at odds with his having spent the major part of his career forming and expanding the litigation department of Holtzmann, Wise & Shepard, a law firm, which, by virtue of serving as general counsel to Allen & Company and the Onassis interests, had an unusually large and varied litigation practice for its size. However, he presently describes himself as a “reformed litigator” and attributes this conversion not only to his experience with the sometimes horrors of drawn out court proceedings but also to his prior frequent involvement in long and costly arbitrations as a result of his firm’s senior partner’s position as Chair of the American Arbitration Association.
Solovay now believes that going to court and unnecessarily participating in lengthy arbitrations should be a very last resort. On the infrequent occasions when his designations as a “Litigation Superlawyer” and one of “New York’s Best Trial Lawyers” have forced him back there, he has continued to utilize his listing by the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals as one of New York’s best mediators in attempts wherever feasible, to settle even the most contentious ongoing litigations.