Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.)

With more than 40 years of experience as a trial lawyer and judge, Judge Heckman (Ret.) has an active practice as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and conducts arbitrations in most major metropolitan areas with a particular concentration in New York City.  In addition to arbitrations and mediations, Judge Heckman was selected as a Fellow to the College of Commercial Arbitrators, an exclusive group of commercial arbitrators representing the best in the United States, where she serves as co-chair of the Education Committee Judge Heckman also engages in litigation counseling and trial work for American Indian tribes and a group of business clients, providing representation in government investigations, complex commercial matters, taxation, and gaming.  She has tried numerous cases as a lawyer, a judge, and an arbitrator in a broad range of disputes.

Judge Heckman served as a Magistrate Judge in the Western District of New York for eight years where she was selected to sit on the Federal Judicial Conference’s Education Committee for Magistrate Judges and served as an Officer in the Federal Magistrate Judges Association.  She has also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Buffalo, New York, and as a law clerk for Hon. John T. Curtin, former Chief Judge of the Western District of New York.

She has significant training and experience as a mediator and has trained federal judges in mediation techniques. She is admitted to  American Arbitration Association's panel of commercial and employment arbitrators and to their panel of mediators. She is also a certified mediator for the wester district of New York.  Successful mediations include federal court cases, including high stakes business disputes, employment disputes of all kinds, environmental claims, products liability and other tort claims, securities claims, patent claims, and §1983 claims. 

Arbitration experience includes all aspects of executive compensation, complex commercial disputes, employment litigation, FLSA, non-compete agreements, construction cases, ERISA liability and several international cases. 

In addition to Judge Heckman's arbitration experience, she is also Team Co-Leader of the firm's Indian Law practice team. Her experience in triable governments spans state, federal and tribal courts as well as arbitrations, and has involved state and federal taxation, land claims, sovereign immunity, tribally-owned businesses, gaming compacts, IGRA, the Nonintercourse Act, insurance, the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Montana doctrine and tribal civil jurisdiction, property rights and land issues, trust land issues, constitutional claims, tort claims, treaty issues and contract claims.  Our significant accomplishments include:

Judge Heckman is a frequent speaker and panelist at Bar Association meetings and at CLE programs across the state. She also has presented at AAA trainings and programs, and programs sponsored by the College of Commercial Arbitration.

Click here to view Judge Heckman’s AAA Commercial Panel Arbitration Resume. 
Click here to view Judge Heckman’s arbitrator AAA Employment Panel Arbitration Resume.
Click here to view Judge Heckman’s AAA Mediation Resume