Practice Area:Commercial, Contract, Elder Care, Family
Hal Gessner is a certified mediator and conflict coach. Hal’s areas of expertise encompasses commercial matters including Media and Entertainment, as well as interpersonal disputes such as Family, Eldercare, Marital Mediation, Wills and Estates, and Guardianship.
Hal is also an arbitrator for the Brooklyn Bar Association in attorney / client fee disputes. In 2019, Hal was named to the board of the New York Peace Institute where he mediates community, housing, surrogate, co-parenting, civil and criminal court cases. In addition, he coaches NYPD officers in conflict de-escalation techniques and mentors apprentices in the New York Peace Institute’s advanced training programs.
Before becoming a certified mediator, Hal worked for 35 years in the network news and entertainment business as producer and executive producer for CBS and ABC. He is the recipient of four national Emmys, a Peabody Award, an Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and an Edward R. Murrow Award.
As a Conflict Coach, Hal’s clients range from university professors, business owners, managers, and employees to neighbors, family members and those in challenging relationships.
Education
The Johns Hopkins University, B.A., Creative Writing
Johns Hopkins University, Bachelor’s degree
Areas of Practice
Commercial
Community
Conflict Coaching
Eldercare
Family Mediation
Marital Mediation
Media and Entertainment
Wills and Estates
Professional Affiliations
American Arbitration Association
Association for Conflict Resolution
Brooklyn Bar Association
The Center for Family Reconciliation
Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA)
National Association For Community Mediators (NAFCM)
New York Peace Institute
Directors Guild of America
Mediation Certifications and Training
Cornell University ILR School, Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution