Those who work with Conna as a neutral arbitrator, mediator or a dispute resolution consultant benefit from her diverse background as a hands-on litigator and practical business, regulatory, transactional, intellectual property and project management problem solver in the U.S and abroad. She brings to her U.S. and international mediation and arbitration practice a unique combination of litigation, transactional and in-house experience after roles with internationally known outside counsel and multinational life sciences and health care companies. She also has extensive experience mediating and arbitrating complex general commercial and employment, life sciences and health care matters in the U.S. and internationally and has served as a sole arbitrator, neutral party-appointed arbitrator on three member panels and as the chair of arbitration tribunals. She is one of the few neutral professionals practicing today with this combination of both mediation/arbitration and hands-on litigation and business skills and experience.

Although she has decades of experience in general commercial and employment matters representing both plaintiffs and defendants and is noted for her ability to help parties assess their positions before and after litigations or arbitrations are filed, Ms. Weiner’s extensive transactional and deal work over the years help her rapidly appreciate the core issues involved in business arbitrations and mediations and creatively assist parties in structuring an appropriate arbitration process or working out negotiated business solutions that help preserve relationships. Her inside counsel experience helps her understand and communicate with clients and maintain an objective perspective in connection with a wide variety of matters.
Ms. Weiner has special expertise in the full range of unique, complex legal issues and contractual arrangements prevalent in life sciences (such as intellectual property, licensing and acquisitions, supply agreements and the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics), health care (both payors and providers) and other technology arenas.

Ms. Weiner was asked to bring her practice to JAMS in 2018. Her JAMS biography and contact information can be accessed here: www.jamsadr.com/weiner; she has a national and international practice and serves with the Business and Commercial Healthcare, IP, International, Pharmaceutical/Mass Tort, and Employment practice areas. She is also a Distinguished Neutral with the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (“CPR”) (serving on the commercial, life sciences and health care and technology panels), and is on the panels of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the American Health Lawyers Association. Before joining JAMS she was listed on the AAA (general commercial, large complex case, healthcare panels) and international ICDR panels and remains available for appointment to AAA and ICDR administered-matters by agreement of the parties, or co-arbitrators for third arbitrator or chair positions. Conna was appointed a Fellow of the international Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2015 and in 2016, she was appointed to the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center list of the World’s Leading Technology Neutrals.

The Inside Edge

As a result of her hands-on experience, Conna has:

  • A customized, proactive, project-management approach to arbitration, mediation using her years of project management experience in-house and as a mediator and arbitrator
  • In-the-trenches, practical experience with challenging legal issues and contractual relationships in different geographies and across cultures;
  • Experience with complex general commercial matters and an extensive background in the highly regulated and technical life sciences/healthcare arena;
  • An in-depth understanding of why and how internal and external deals and collaborations get done or fall apart;
  • An appreciation of the long term effect of litigation on business relationships;

Representative Matters

Ms. Weiner has applied her years of substantive experience to help parties in connection with a wide range of ADR matters. Representative of her active ADR practice are the following:

Arbitrations

  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in international arbitration regarding dispute over long-term supply agreements between two pharmaceutical companies
  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in international arbitration regarding dispute over earnout provisions of an acquisition agreement between two pharmaceutical companies
  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in hospital/physician compensation dispute (complicated by potential Stark Law issues)
  • Chair of tripartite panel in physician partnership dispute
  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator in patent/know-how licensing and trade secret molecular biology dispute
  • Sole arbitrator in pharmaceutical company-research university licensing dispute regarding scope of exclusive patent and know-how license in connection with university and inventor activities with another pharmaceutical company
  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in dispute over denial of severance benefits under an ERISA plan in connection with change of control
  • Sole arbitrator in connection with FLSA, discrimination and retaliation claims brought by terminated employee
  • Sole arbitrator in connection with ambulance services and managed care provider reimbursement dispute
  • Sole arbitrator in connection with biological materials storage agreement dispute
  • Sole arbitrator in dispute over valuation of private shares in biotechnology company
  • Sole arbitrator in significant contractual dispute between health plan and pharmacy benefit management plan
  • Emergency arbitrator appointed to assess applications for emergency relief in connection with termination of health providers from health plan
  • Sole arbitrator in research and manufacturing agreement dispute
  • Sole arbitrator provider/health insurer mental health coverage dispute
  • Neutral party-appointed arbitrator for tripartite panel in connection with breach of partnership agreement and fiduciary duty by law firm partner
  • Sole arbitrator in connection with complex dispute between selling family trust and individuals and purchasing companies relating to indemnification and earnout provisions
  • Numerous franchisor/franchisee disputes
  • General commercial
  • Debtor/creditor disputes
  • Several significant attorney/client fee-dispute arbitrations

Mediations

  • International mediation between two pharmaceutical companies involving allegations of failure to use commercially reasonable efforts in the marketing of a cancer product
  • International mediation between diagnostics development and commercialization partners regarding allegations of failure to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize diagnostics products in context of significant long-term collaboration
  • International, multiple party mediation amongst inventors, start-up company and research institution relating to patent and commercialization rights and responsibilities with respect to psychiatric pharmaceutical product
  • Charges of defamation on social media and other platforms
  • University-based vaccines supplier dispute with pharmaceutical company over effects of termination of long term supply agreement
  • Research university and pharmaceutical company licensee dispute involving sublicensing income and royalty allocation issues
  • Health system and therapeutic hardware/software supplier dispute involving claims of failure of hardware and software implementation in radiation applications
  • Diagnostics sales agency and distribution agreements dispute
  • False advertising (significant federal case involving pharmaceutical companies under Lanham Act)
  • Employment, including age discrimination and sexual harassment
  • General commercial contracts
  • Personal Injury