Mediation

Why Mediation:

Faster, less expensive, private and confidential, voluntary and informal, nonbinding until agreement is reached, settlement eliminates unpredictability of litigation.

Why ILG:

At ILG, we approach mediation both as a facilitated negotiation and as an informal litigation. The availability of a person experienced in business and law to act as a private mediator can be the best opportunity for parties in a commercial dispute to resolve their differences and minimize the time and expense associated with the more traditional litigation or arbitration processes.

Furthermore, since the non-court ordered mediation process is voluntary and established by mutual agreement, it affords to the parties much greater ability to control not only time/schedule and cost issues but also confidentiality, potential adverse publicity, executive time commitments, flexible resolution structure and documentation, and preservation of business relationships rather than the almost inevitable relationship damage done when disputes are permitted to fester and proceed to litigation (or even arbitration) where positions can become intractable and the other party is increasingly regarded as the “enemy.”

ILG offers clients and other law firms the opportunity to bring disputes to a well known and senior businessman with more than 40 years of business and legal experience. Our Mediation practice group is headed by Frank S. Ioppolo, Sr.*, the former Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Mr. Ioppolo Sr. was responsible for the legal and environmental departments, sat on the Steering and Executive Committees and served as the Walt Disney Company’s chief real estate negotiator, taking the lead on projects that included the construction contracting for Paris Disneyland, the Anaheim and Long Beach Disneyland negotiations to expand Disneyland, the Shades of Green hotel development with the U.S. Army, the redevelopment of Times Square and the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City, the creation of the Disney Cruise Line including negotiation for the construction of two cruise ships in Italy for nearly $1 billion, acquisition and development of an island in the Bahamas and negotiation with foreign governments for finance and tax incentives to establish the Disney Cruise Line, and the creation of the Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare/vacation ownership business.

Prior to joining the Walt Disney Company in 1989, Mr. Ioppolo Sr. was a Senior Partner and Chairman of the Real Estate Group for the Wall Street law firm of Donovan, Leisure. Mr. Ioppolo practiced law in the Real Estate, Construction and Litigation areas, representing clients such as the Bank of Tokyo, IDS, the State of New York, legendary New York developer Sheldon Solow, the Empire State Development Corporation (UDC), New York State Housing Finance Agency, the Walt Disney Company and many other private and public sector entities.

Mr. Ioppolo Sr. limits his mediation/dispute resolution facilitation practice to those matters which, after consultation with potential clients, he believes are best suited to his skills and experience. He is not a court certified mediator and does not engage in court ordered mediation.

Mr. Ioppolo Sr. acts as a mediator and as a business consultant and NOT as an attorney. He has practiced law as a member of the bar of the State of New York and as an Authorized House Counsel in Florida. *He is not admitted to the Florida Bar.