Retired New York Supreme Court Justice Ariel E. Belen Joins JAMS

October 18, 2012

New York – JAMS, the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide, today announced the addition of Hon. Ariel E. Belen (Ret.) to its panel. Justice Belen will be based in the JAMS New York Resolution Center. He will serve as an arbitrator, mediator and special master in a variety of disputes including Business/Commercial, Employment, Insurance, Personal Injury, Professional Liability and Real Property.

Over the course of nearly 18 years of distinguished judicial service he presided over a number of matters in civil litigation from administrative issues to zoning laws. For the past five years, Justice Belen served as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. Prior to that, he was a Justice in the New York Supreme Court trial and appellate terms. Justice Belen helped create the Kings County Commercial Division and then presided as a Justice handling complex commercial cases between 2002 and 2005. As Administrative Judge of Kings County Supreme Court, he created new rules, procedures and court parts with the primary goal of early dispute resolution.

“Justice Belen has a reputation as a calm, intelligent, fair and hardworking judge,” said Chris Poole, JAMS president and CEO. “Additionally his passion for ADR and strong settlement experience will translate nicely across a variety of practice areas and will be extremely valuable to parties.”

“Joining JAMS is a natural fit for me,” said Justice Belen. “I have employed early mediation as often as possible while serving on the bench. I look forward to continue utilizing ADR in this next chapter of my professional career.”

Justice Belen graduated with his B.A., cum laude from Brooklyn College and earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School. He is also fluent in Spanish. He co-authored New York Trial Notebook, a comprehensive trial practice treatise and was an instructor at the New York State Judicial Institute where he taught all newly appointed or elected New York judges in the art of judging. 

About JAMS, The Resolution Experts
Founded in 1979, JAMS, The Resolution Experts is the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide. With Resolution Centers nationwide and abroad, JAMS and its more than 280 exclusive neutrals are responsible for resolving thousands of the world’s important cases. JAMS may be reached at 800-352-5267 or www.jamsadr.com.