You may read more about Amy Kaplan Eckman’s background on LinkedIn.
Professional Experience
AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION, neutral arbitrator, commercial and construction panel, 2004-present. Member, Large, Complex Case Panel
FINRA, neutral public arbitrator
NEW YORK SUPREME COURT COMMERCIAL DIVISION ADR PROGRAM, panel of neutrals, 2012-present
ECKMAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., Bedford, NH, sold company 2008; majority owner, President and Treasurer 1992 to 2008, Vice President and General Counsel 1984 to 1992
SULLOWAY HOLLIS & SODEN, Concord, NH, attorney specializing in transactional, corporate, real estate, and financial law, 1980‑1984
GREENBERG IRWIN PELLMAN & SLADE, New York, NY, attorney specializing in corporate law, 1979‑1980
ALEXANDER & GREEN, New York, NY, attorney specializing in corporate law, 1978‑1979
education
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Juris Doctor, 1978
VASSAR COLLEGE, departmental honors in East Asian Studies, A.B., 1975
THE DALTON SCHOOL (New York City), High School Diploma, Regents Scholar, 1971
YALE UNIVERSITY SUMMER LANGUAGE INSTITUTE – Honors in Intermediate Chinese (post‑graduate level), 1970
admitted to practice law
New York, 1979;
New Hampshire, 1980;
U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire, 1980.
U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
professional memberships
Supreme Court, New York County, Commercial Division, Neutral Mediator
American Arbitration Association, Roster of Neutral Arbitrators, member, Large Complex Case Panel
Southern California Mediation Association
American Bar Association, member: Section of Corporation, Banking & Business Law, and Forum Committee on the Construction Industry, Division of Dispute Avoidance and Resolution; also ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, ADR Practice Management, Business and Skills Development, Arbitration, and Women in Dispute Resolution Committees
New Hampshire Bar Association, former member: Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law and Committee on Cooperation with Other Professions; former member: Corporation, Banking & Business Law Section and Business Litigation Section
New York State Bar Association, member Dispute Resolution Section and Real Property Law Section; and Construction and Surety Law Division
New York County Lawyers’ Association, former member ADR Committee and Construction Law Committee
New York City Bar Association, member Construction Law Committee
New York City Association of Small Claims Arbitrators
other qualifications
Certifications
American Arbitration Association (AAA)
Languages
English
French (fluent)
Mandarin Chinese (limited)
Industries
Real Estate
Construction
Commercial
adr trainings
2025: Best Practices for Arbitrating Fire, Flood and Disaster Claims; Innovation Meets Integrity: Navigating Technology in Arbitration; Technology Disputes: Navigating the Future for the Modern Arbitrator; Striking the Balance: Navigating Party Autonomy and Ensuring Efficient, Fair Arbitration; What Arbitrators and Mediators Need to Know about New Technology in Construction Projects.
2024: Crafting Compliant AAA Awards: Structure, Fees and Best Practices; Unique Characteristics of Construction Arbitration and Techniques to Address Them; Disclosure Dynamics in Arbitration; AAA Construction Conference: Exploring the Intersection of Emerging Technologies and ADR.
2023: Third-Party Subpoenas in Arbitration (NYSBA); Thoughts for Conducting an Effective and Successful Hearing (CCA); Awarding Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Interest in Arbitrations (AAA); Effective Use of Technology: Case Management; Well Managed Preliminary Hearings; Discovery Best Practices for Construction Arbitration; ADR Legislation & Case Law Legal Update and Why Courts Vacate Awards and How to Prevent It (AAA Conference).
2022: Cutting-Edge Issues in Commercial Arbitration (NYLS); 2022 AAA Construction Conference (AAA); ACE 22 - Process Essentials for AAA Arbitrators.
2021: Saving Substantial Cost in Complex Commercial Arbitration (AAA); Impartiality: Do You Know Where Your Biases Are? (AAA); Ethical Issues Arising in Multi-party Disputes (AAA); The CCA Presents: Using the Pre-hearing Conference to Win Your Commercial Arbitration.
2020: Construction Law During the Pandemic (NYSBA); Video Arbitration: What to Consider Before Jumping In (ABA); Impacts of COVID-19 on Commercial Leasing in NYC (NYC Bar); Emergency Arbitration and Its Benefits in a Remote Environment (NYSBA); Arbitration and Mediation in the Time of COVID; Special Powers of the Arbitrator and Tips for the Arbitration Hearing (ABA); Understanding the AAA-ICDR Virtual Hearing Guide for Arbitrators and Parties (NYSBA); As Businesses Reopen, the Lawsuits begin: Landscape for Post-Covid, the Intersection of Insurance and using ADR for Expedited Resolution (NYSBA).
2019: Ethics and Fitness: Protecting the Integrity and Quality of the Arbitration Process (AAA); Consolidation of Arbitrations and Joining Additional Parties: The Arbitrator’s Authority (AAA); The Arbitration Award: Delivering a Quality Decision (AAA); Arbitration 2019 - What Parties and their Counsel Have a Right to Expect and Arbitrators Should be Delivering: Arbitration at Its Best (NYSBA).
2018: Arbitrator Performance and Demeanor: Meeting Participant Expectations (AAA); Technology in Construction Contracts: Current Best Practices and Future Challenges (ABA).
2017: Red Flags and Risk Areas: Challenges to Arbitrator Authority (AAA); The Handshake Contractor (ABA).
2016: Dealing with Difficult Attorneys in Arbitration (AAA); Inside, Outside and Court Side Perspectives on Retail Leasing (NYC Bar Ass'n); Clarity in Award Writing; AAA Panel Conference (New Orleans): Arbitration Law Key Developments, Clearing the Fog, eDiscovery: What Every Arbitrator Needs to Know; The 2016 AAA Construction Conference: Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget (Miami); NYC Bar Association “Litigating Construction Project Disputes” (Featured speaker on ADR in Construction Litigation).
2015: ABA Construction ADR Summit (Austin, TX); Mediating the Complex Construction Case (Pepperdine Law School); AAA Construction Conference, Keeping Arbitration Lean; “Arbitrator Subpoenas: Are They Worth the Paper They’re Printed On?”; NYC Bar Association “Litigating Construction Project Disputes” (Featured speaker on ADR in Construction Litigation).
2014: New York State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Fall Meeting, “Winning with ADR: Strategies to Successfully Leverage the Tools in the ADR Toolbox”; Securities Arbitration & Mediation Hot Topics 2014; ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Conference, Miami, FL; NYC Bar Assn: Construction Perspectives: Are NY’s Construction Safety and Insurance Laws Serving the Public? AAA Five Ways to Reduce the Costs of Construction Arbitration; ABA Forum on Construction Industry: Building Utopia: Best Practices in Construction Risk Management, Capture the Imagination with Visualization, Technology Toolbox at a Construction Site, Best Practices in Arbitration.
2013: Pepperdine Law School Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Mediator Boot Camp; AAA Construction Professionals Guide to Conducting an AAA Arbitration; Trends in International Construction Arbitration seminar.
2012: AAA Managing the Arbitration Process for Efficiency & Economy Following the Preliminary Hearing; AAA Maximizing Efficiency & Economy in Arbitration: Challenges at the Preliminary Hearing; Southern California Mediation Association, 24th Annual Fall Conference, The Working Mediator: Improving the Culture of Conflict; “New and Improved ADR Techniques for the Modern American Lawyer” Dispute Resolution Section Joint CLE Program with Commercial and Federal Litigation Section NYSBA Fall Meeting; AAA Advanced Mediator Training Series: The Extent (or Limit) of Mediator Influence to Effect Settlement; AAA Eight Problems the Commercial Real Estate Crash Uncovered and How ADR Can Resolve the Issues; Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, 6 day course: Mediating the Litigated Case; NY State Bar Association, 3-Day Commercial Mediation Training.
2011: AAA How to Become a More Innovative Neutral or Advocate: Applying Cutting Edge Innovation Management Techniques to Your ADR Practice; AAA Concrete Steps to Avoid Construction Problems and Head Off Disputes; AAA Consolidation and Joinder Issues in Construction Arbitration: What Construction Counsel Need to Know; AAA Navigating the Construction Arbitration Roadmap; AAA Lien on Me: Construction Lien Issues in Arbitration; AAA Why Construction Mediations Fail: Avoiding Common Mistakes; AAA Spring Construction Conference, Mediation: It’s Not New, So What’s Next?.
2010: AAA/ICDR Neutrals Conference; AAA Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics; AAA Arbitrator Ethics & Disclosure; ABA, Reining in Costs and Delays in Commercial and Construction Arbitration.
2009: AAA Arbitrator Boundaries: What are the Limits of Arbitrator Authority?; AAA Construction Conference: Maximizing ADR Advocacy for Today’s Economy.
2008: AAA Ask & Answer: Arbitration.
2007: Civil Court of New York, Small Claims Arbitration Training; AAA Pro Se: Managing Cases Involving Self-Represented Parties.
2006: AAA Arbitration Awards: Safeguarding, Deciding & Writing Awards.
2004: AAA Construction Arbitrator II Training: Advanced Case Management Issues; AAA Arbitrator I Training-Fundamentals of the Arbitration Process.
Other Memberships & Volunteer Positions
Formerly, Aide to J.C. Flowers Foundation re Malarial Net Distribution in southern Africa
Former member, Save the Children, Global Educational Advisory Board
American Red Cross, Client Services volunteer (after hurricane Katrina), Lafayette, LA, Oct. 8-30, 2005, national volunteer, D.C. office, 2005-6
Formerly, New Hampshire Bar Foundation, Campaign for Legal Services, Steering Committee
Central Pride Foundation, founder and former board member, charitable foundation to benefit Central High School, Manchester, NH
New York City Housing Court Resource Office, 2008-9
New York City Small Claims Arbitrator, 2008- present
Founder and member of Board of Trustees (president 2002-04), The Acting Loft, performing arts school Manchester, NH
Former member, Board of Trustees, Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences (President 1990‑1992), now called NH Institute of Art
Former member, Board of Trustees, Elliot Hospital, Manchester, NH; member: Ethics Committee
Former member, Board of Trustees, Optima Health, Inc. (holding company for merger of Elliot Hospital and Catholic Medical Center)
Former member, Board of Directors, Child Health Services
Former member, Board of Trustees, Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Former member, Board of Trustees, Jewish Federation of Greater Manchester
Former member, Steering Committee, Leadership Manchester Program, Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Former member, Jayme’s Fund for Social Justice
Incorporator, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Incorporator, Manchester Regional Charitable Foundation
Teaching Positions & Publications
Faculty member, Judith S. Kaye Arbitration Competition, AAA 2017
Faculty Member, Litigating Construction Project Disputes 101, NYC Bar Association, 2015 and 2016
Adjunct Professor, NH Vocational Technical College, Construction Law (1990’s)
Faculty member, Seminars on Construction Law, National Business Institute (1990’s)
Faculty Member, Construction Law Seminars, New Hampshire Bar Association (1990’s)
Author, “AAA Releases New Construction Industry Cost Containment Rules – It’s Not Too Late to Opt In,” NEW YORK DISPUTE RESOLUTION LAWYER, New York State Bar Association, vol. 7, no. 2, Fall 2014
Co-Author, “White Paper on the Benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Resolving Construction Disputes,” NEW YORK DISPUTE RESOLUTION LAWYER, New York State Bar Association, vol. 4, no. 2, Summer 2011.
Author: New Hampshire Construction Law: what do you do when…? 1991
Miscellaneous
American Red Cross Training:
Greater Palm Beach Area: International Humanitarian Law (1/27/06)
Greater Manchester, NH: Intro to Disaster Services (9/7/05), Mass Care: An Overview and Shelter Operations (9/17/05), Family Services: Providing Emergency Assistance (10/1/05)
Graduate, Class of 1990 Leadership Manchester (Manchester NH Chamber of Commerce)
Finalist, 1990 and 1992 Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young/Inc. Magazine/Merrill-Lynch
Campaign Manager, Hal Eckman for U.S. Senate, New Hampshire 1992