Harry P. Trueheart
Senior Counsel and Chairman Emeritus
Introduction
Harry Trueheart is an experienced arbitrator and mediator and for many years a business and commercial litigator representing parties in courts, before national and international arbitration panels and in mediations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia. He has also held leadership positions in the legal industry including as Chair and CEO of TerraLex, a global law firm network of over 150 law firms in 100 countries; as Chairman, CEO, Managing Partner and Litigation Practice Group Leader at the law firm Nixon Peabody LLP; and Chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association.
My focus
General Dispute Resolution Qualifications
I am a Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators; a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; a member of the Panel of Neutrals of CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution; and a member of the CPR Council and an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association all for over 20 years. I serve on the panel of a court annexed ADR program. Over the years, I have had extensive training with these organizations.
Arbitration Experience as a Neutral
I have served as an arbitrator under a variety of rules including AAA, CPR, ICDR, ICC, DIS (German arbitration institute) and court annexed programs. I have served as a panel chair, panel member, and sole arbitrator. Recent cases in which I have served as an arbitrator include claims related to the mortgage backed securities market, international contract disputes between internet service providers, disputes between private equity investors, company founders and management, disputes under international distribution agreements, corporate insurance disputes, and construction disputes.
Arbitration Experience as a Party Representative
I have acted as a party representative in a variety of domestic and international arbitrations. The international arbitrations have involved large scale disputes over contracts in Europe, Latin American, the Middle East, and India. I have worked under the rules of the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, AAA, ICDR, CPR, DIS, and other arbitral bodies. A number of the arbitrations involved international energy project disputes, as well as project development and privatization disputes. The arbitrations have involved a variety of foreign laws including Swiss, French, German, Turkish, Emirates, Australian, and others.
US Litigation Experience
I spent the majority of my career leading a wide variety of business litigations including litigation arising out of patent licensing agreements, unfair competition, and trade secret claims, breach of contract claims, and claims involving complex commercial, technical, and accounting issues. I have litigated matters involving the federal securities laws and antitrust laws as well as state corporate laws.
Sector Experience
I have been involved in disputes or in other capacities in a variety of economic sectors, including manufacturing, sales and distribution, international construction and energy projects, privatization, private equity, finance, real estate development, accounting, technology, intellectual property, internet services, aircraft, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, law firms and professional services, securities, mortgage backed securities, executive employment, higher education, telecommunications, public broadcasting, and others.
Construction Arbitration Experience
I have had extensive experience in the arbitration of international construction disputes, involving complex projects. These include projects in Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates and other countries in that area, India, and Turkey. The arbitrations were conducted under ICC, ICSID, AAA, and other rules and involved a variety of foreign laws. The projects involved a variety of technologies and types of construction and usually involved claims for delays, changes, cost over-runs and related construction failures, design issues, or owner related issues. I have also been involved as a party representative or arbitrator in U.S. construction disputes.
Mediation Experience
I act as a mediator on an ongoing basis. Matters have included business, commercial, contract, intellectual property, real estate, sale of businesses, and professional liability disputes among others. My professional training has included extensive mediation training through CPR programs, court sponsored programs, and others.
Leadership, Management, and Business Experience
I believe my leadership, management, and business experience adds skills useful in my ADR practice. As mentioned above and expanded upon here, I have served as follows: past Chair, CEO, and Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody LLP and Litigation Chair (over 20 years combined experience); past Chair and CEO of TerraLex (2011-2018), an international network of 150 independent law firms in 100 countries and 45 U.S. states; past Chair and Trustee of a regional public broadcasting corporation; past Trustee of a large U.S. technology focused university; past Regional Advisory Director to a major banking institution; past Director of a regional business alliance; past Director of a regional telecommunications company.
Looking ahead
With nearly every company and institution operating domestically or internationally, the need to prevent or efficiently resolve disputes is growing. Clients and their lawyers need to continually reexamine how they approach their risk management and dispute resolution processes.
Admitted to practice
New York
Education
Harvard Law School, J.D.
Harvard University, B.A.in Economics
University of Michigan School of Business Executive Program
Professional activities
- Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Panel of Neutrals of CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution and a member of the CPR Council
- American Arbitration Association Arbitrator
- New York State Bar Association; past chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section; past member of the Association’s House of Delegates
- American Bar Association; Dispute Resolution, Litigation, Antitrust, and Business Law sections
- Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management
Recognition
- Selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 in the field of Arbitration; listed since 2020
- Selected as the Best Lawyers® 2022 Arbitration “Lawyer of the Year” in Rochester
- Upstate New York Super Lawyers list in 2008-2018 for business litigation, international law, and alternative dispute resolution
Professionals in the Practice Area
View AllChristopher M. Mason
Partner / Deputy Leader, Class Actions and Aggregate Litigation / Leader, Arbitration Team- New York
- Office:+1 212.940.3017
- cmason@nixonpeabody.com
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Carolyn G. Nussbaum
Senior Counsel- Rochester
- Office:+1 585.263.1558Mobile:+1 585.766.1480
- cnussbaum@nixonpeabody.com
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Dan Deane
Partner / Leader, Class Actions and Aggregate Litigation / Co-Leader, TCPA & Consumer Privacy Team- Manchester
- Office:+1 603.628.4047
- ddeane@nixonpeabody.com
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