Neal M. Eiseman

After more than three decades litigating, arbitrating and mediating complex business disputes, Neal established Eiseman ADR LLC to serve as a full-time independent arbitrator and mediator.

Neal serves on the Panel of Construction Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), including its Construction Arbitration Master Panel. He is a member of the Panel of Arbitrators for the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. He is also a member of both the AAA’s Construction Master Mediation Panel and the Panel of Mediators of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Chambers USA ranks Neal as a Band 1 Construction Mediator in New York. Neal trains newly admitted arbitrators for the AAA and several times, he has taught an intensive five-day AAA mediator training program entitled “Essential Mediation Skills for the New Mediator.”​

Neal is a 2022 Best Lawyer in Construction Law, Arbitration, and Mediation. Super Lawyers named Neal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” across-the-board for the New York Metropolitan Area in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022. In 2017, Best Lawyers selected Neal as the “Lawyer of the Year” in New York City for “Litigation-Construction Law.”​

Neal is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as well as a Member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Neal is a Fellow, and for 2022-23, President of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, an invitation-only fellowship comprised of nationally and internationally recognized commercial arbitrators.

As a partner at Goetz Fitzpatrick LLC, one of the premier construction and real estate law firms in New York and New Jersey, Neal specialized in the construction and real estate industries, representing real estate developers, owners, lenders, construction managers, contractors, subcontractors, sureties, design professionals and manufacturers.

​As an Adjunct Professor at Cardozo School of Law, Neal teaches Construction Law. He is served as an Adjunct Professor at New York University, where, for orver 25 years, he teaches masters-level courses in construction, real estate law, negotiation, and dispute resolution. In 2015, Neal received NYU’s School of Professional Studies Award for Outstanding Service.

He is a regular guest speaker at events held by the American Bar Association (ABA), the AAA and the College of Commercial Arbitrators. 

In June 2022, Neal spoke at the ABA's Arbitration Institute in Chicago on “What Commercial Arbitrators Need to Know: Recent Decisions and Legislation Affecting the Practice of Arbitration.” 

Last May, Neal moderated a College of Commercial Arbitrators Best Practice Webinar on “Convincing Your Arbitrators to Authorize the Discovery You Really Need in Your Commercial Arbitration.”  

In April 2021, Neal moderated a panel discussion at the ABA’s Section on Dispute Resolution’s Spring Meeting addressing “Post-Pandemic Arbitration: Old School or New Age?” Also in April 2021, on behalf of the American Arbitration Association, Neal taught new AAA arbitrators about “Arbitrator Fundamentals and Best Practices.”  

In January 2020, Neal’s Sound Advice Podcast, “Selecting the Right Commercial Arbitrator” was posted on the ABA Section of Litigation’s website. In October 2020, Neal (i) participated as a panel member in an AAA/ICDR presentation addressing “How to Effectively Deal With the 3oo Change Order Dispute: Who Controls the Process?’; and (ii) discussed the legal issues involving “Nonsignatories to Arbitration Agreements” at the College of Commercial Arbitrators annual meeting. In November 2020, he hosted an online session for the AAA entitled, “Best Practices Roundtable on Virtual Hearings.”

 Neal spoke at the 2019 Construction SuperConference in Los Angeles on “What Counsel and Witnesses Do that Drive Arbitrators Nuts.” in May 2019, he spoke at the ABA Section of Litigation Conference in New York City on “A Delicate Balance: Arbitrating Your Client’s Complex Commercial Case Without Sacrificing Speed, Efficiency and Cost-Savings.” In April 2019, he spoke at the American Arbitration Association’s Annual Construction Conference in Miami on “Don’t Forget the Damages—You Can’t Win on Entitlement Alone.” Also in April 2019, Neal spoke at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s Annual Conference in Minneapolis on “How to Save the Parties From Themselves in Construction Arbitrations.”

In October 2018, Neal spoke on behalf of the American Arbitration Association in New York City on “Seeking Efficiency and Economy in Arbitration: The Attorney’s Role.”  In April 2018, Neal spoke at the annual ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Conference in Washington, D.C. on “Handling Multi-Claim Construction Disputes: Practical Tips.” 

Neal lectured at the 2017 Construction SuperConference on “Streamlining Your Arbitration: How to Avoid Reliving that Construction Project Brick by Brick,” in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

In the not too distant past, Neal (i) appeared before more than City School Construction Authority project managers and spoke about dispute resolution; (ii) spoke as part of a national AAA webinar on “The Overuse of Discovery in Arbitration Proceedings”; (iii) lectured about project delay and scheduling at the ABA’s New York Regional Program entitled “The Fundamentals of Construction Law”; (iv) participated on a panel of experts on “New York’s Prompt Payment Act: An Underutilized Tool for Getting your Client Paid” at New York County Lawyers Association; (v) spoke before the New York County Lawyers Association on “The Use of ADR in Construction Cases: What the Industry Forms Say about ADR”; and (vi) lectured at the ABA’s Annual Litigation Conference about “Best Practices to Maximize the Benefits of Your Next Arbitration.” He also recorded Sound Advice segments on "unilateral arbitration agreements" and "arbitrator selection" for the ABA’s national website.

Prior to launching Eiseman ADR, in a decision that received national coverage, Neal represented a number of unpaid telecommunications companies who sued Wells Fargo Bank in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York for the diversion of monies funded by certain public entities to pay for the subcontractors’ work. The lawsuit, certified as a class action, was tried before Judge Leonard D. Wexler who issued a decision awarding the subcontractors 100% of their claims totaling, including interest, $2.7 million. In the recent past, Neal obtained a $1 million-plus arbitration award, which included attorney’s fees, against the sponsor of a Manhattan condominium project on behalf of various unit owners who claimed the fair market value of their apartments had been reduced by virtue of the sponsor’s actions. He also obtained a unanimous reversal of an adverse decision of a New York federal trial court when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that a “Residential Exclusion” rider in a comprehensive general liability insurance policy does not permit a contractor’s insurance company to disclaim coverage because the project in question involves the construction of a residential condominium project.

Neal writes extensively about construction and commercial issues for various legal journals.  In August 2021, he co-authored an article appearing in the ABA Section of Litigation's journal, Litigation, entitled "Debunking Misperceptions: The Upsides of Commercial Arbitration."   Additional recent publications include "Can A Commercial Arbitrator Demand a Virtual Hearing?," The National Law Journal, May 20, 2020; College of Commercial Arbitrators GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICES IN COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION, 4th Ed., 2018; Co-Author of Chapters on “Arbitrator Fees and Expenses” and “Unique Issues in Construction Arbitration”; "Supreme Court Ruling Will Deter Construction Workers' Claims for Unpaid Wages," Op-Ed Piece, CRAINS NEW YORK BUSINESS, June 19, 2018; THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICAL LAW, Author of the Overview on New York Construction Law, 2016 to present; "Third-Party Funding of Lawsuits Permeates Legal Landscape," Opinion Piece/Column,NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, April 13, 2018; Co-Author, ABA 2017 A201 DESKBOOK, Chapter on "Claims and Disputes"; "Proposed Legislation Undermines Business to Business Arbitration," NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, February 8, 2016; "Stiffing the Arbitrators: The Problem of Nonpayment in Commercial Arbitration," ARVARD NEGOTIATION LAW REVIEW, April 2015; "Falling Through the Cracks: The Problem of the Non-Paying Party in Arbitration," NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, October 15, 2014; "A Tale of Two Lawyers: How Arbitrators and Advocates Can Avoid the Dangerous Convergence of Arbitration and Litigation," Cardozo Law School, JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION, Volume 14, Number 3, Spring 2013; "When a Performance Bond Surety Offers to Takeover: Practical Considerations for the Owner-Obligee and its Lender," ABA Construction Forum, September 2010; "Mandatory Arbitration in Construction Payment Disputes," NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL, April 20, 2010.

Chambers USA has referred to Neal as “very intelligent” and “a breath of fresh air,” praising him for his ability to “bring to the table a pragmatic approach.” Chambers also noted that Neal “is a highly regarded mediator” and “is the consummate professional, understanding the details and getting to the bottom of things very quickly.”

​