Wreck-onciliation: Mediation Guardrails and the Risks of Veering Off
Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM
Panelists:
Hon. Roberta A. Colton, United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida (Tampa, Florida)
Annmarie Chiarello, Shareholder, Winstead PC (Dallas, Texas)
Sylvia Mayer, Arbitrator, Mediator and Attorney, S. Mayer Law (Houston, Texas)
Edward Schnitzer, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP (New York, New York)
Ellen Waldman, Professor Emeritus at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and Dispute Prevention Consultant at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (New York, New York)
Description:
Mediation is a cornerstone of modern bankruptcy practice, but its success depends on ethical guardrails that keep the process impartial, confidential, and enforceable. This session examines the ethical and procedural rules that govern neutrals, advocates, and judges serving as neutrals and the distinct considerations that apply to each role. Panelists will also explore what happens when mediations veer off course.
Bios:
Judge Roberta A. Colton has been a bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Florida since 2016. She serves as the Judicial Chair for the Michael G. Williamson View from the Bench program and remains active with the Florida Bar Business Law Section, American College of Bankruptcy, NCBJ, and ABI (among other professional associations). Before taking the bench, Judge Colton practiced at Trenam Law in Tampa, where she was a shareholder and a member of the firm’s Management Committee.
Annmarie Chiarello is a Texas-based bankruptcy attorney and shareholder in Winstead PC’s Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group. She is primarily a creditor-side bankruptcy lawyer with a focused practice representing secured lenders, banks, financial institutions, commercial landlords, trustees, and creditors in Chapter 7 liquidations, Chapter 11 reorganizations, adversary proceedings, and bankruptcy appeals throughout Texas and the United States.
Sylvia Mayer with S. Mayer Law is an arbitrator, mediator, and attorney with over 30 years of experience in courts nationwide and over 12 years of experience as a neutral. An NADN member and TMCA Credentialed Distinguished Mediator, she serves on several arbitration and mediation rosters for civil, commercial, consumer, energy, employment, and healthcare disputes.
Edward Schnitzer is a Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, focusing his practice on bankruptcy and reorganization matters, with extensive experience in bankruptcy litigation. He is a court-approved mediator in various bankruptcy courts. Before entering private practice, Ed served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx and then joined the SEC’s Enforcement Division .
Ellen Waldman has been deeply involved in the theory and practice of mediation for over three decades. A law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law for 27 years, she founded and directed her school’s court-connected mediation clinic, offering introductory and advanced courses in mediation, as well as seminars in therapeutic jurisprudence, and mediation ethics. Former chair of the International Mediation Institute’s ethics committee, and task-force member for the California judicial council’s working-group on training requirements for court-connected mediators, Waldman has sought to focus attention on the qualification and ethics training of mediators. She most recently served as the Vice President of Advocacy and Educational Outreach at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), offering thought leadership in the realm of mediation and dispute prevention. She has published more than 25 articles on numerous dispute resolution topics and crafted the first book-length treatment of ethical dilemmas in mediation, entitled Mediation Ethics: Cases and Commentaries.