Start in Arbitration, Finish in Court: The Sexual Harassment Plaintiff’s Election to Litigate

Philip J. Loree Jr., Principal | The Loree Law Firm

Philip J. Loree Jr, who practices as The Loree Law Firm, has more than 35 years of experience representing clients in complex disputes in matters before federal and state trial and appellate courts and arbitration panels, and counseling clients on dispute resolution-related matters. His practice centers on domestic and international arbitration law, reinsurance, insurance, and commercial and business dispute resolution. He is a nationally recognized commentator on U.S. arbitration law and is is devoted to solving arbitration problems for small businesses, , and professionals.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Loree earned his B.A. from New York University in 1986 and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1989, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, a Dean’s Merit Scholar, and a member of the Dean’s List. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Eighth Circuits.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is a recognized authority on practice and procedure under the Federal Arbitration Act, including matters arising under the New York Convention, and his commentary on arbitration has been quoted by Global Arbitration Review, Business Insurance, and U.S. Law Week. Among his notable appellate matters, he argued Certain Underwriting Members of Lloyds of London v. State of Florida (2d Cir. 2018), in which the Second Circuit set the evident-partiality standard for party-appointed arbitrators, and Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Home Ins. Co. (6th Cir. 2005), both of which have been widely cited by courts, treatises, and commentators.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Loree is a prolific author and speaker on reinsurance and arbitration law. He is Editor-in-Chief of The Arbitration Law Forum (formerly the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum) (www.loreelawfirm.com/blog), where he has published more than 375 articles, and his work has appeared in the New York Law Journal, the National Law Journal, Law360, the Texas Tech Law Review, Global Reinsurer, U.S. Insurer, and the the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (“CPR”)’s newsletter, Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, among others. He has served as a panelist at numerous industry programs, including American Conference Institute forums on reinsurance regulation and disputes. He is, and has been for several years, a regular contributor to arbitration-law analysis on CPR’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@CPRInstituteOnline/videos).

• Experience

Before forming Loree & Loree in 2008 (which he continued as The Loree Law Firm after the late Philip J. Loree Sr. retired in 2020), Mr. Loree practiced for nearly 17 years with one of the leading reinsurance
practice groups in the United States and was a litigation partner at two prominent New York firms, Rosenman & Colin LLP (now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP) and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (now Hogan Lovells Cadwalader). As a partner at Cadwalader, he was a member of the four-partner trial team that obtained a $1.1 billion arbitration award for a large Japanese insurance and reinsurance company against Fortress Re, Inc.—reputed at the time to be the largest award in the history of reinsurance arbitration. He was also a partner member of the team that successfully handled the related, more than $1 billion action against Deloitte & Touche, which resulted in what was at the time reputed to be the second-largest settlement of an independent auditor liability case in history.

Mr. Loree has arbitrated or litigated many significant reinsurance-related issues, including statutory and GAAP reinsurance accounting, transfer of risk, fraud and rescission, London Market disputes, insolvencies, follow-the-fortunes and follow-the-settlements, allocation of environmental and asbestos liabilities, trigger of coverage, contract interpretation, utmost good faith, and the liability of intermediaries and brokers. He also has counseled clients on insurance coverage, regulatory compliance, OFAC sanctions, commutations, Bermuda Form policies, risk transfer, and other insurance- or reinsurance-related matters.

He has represented a wide-range of clients in proceedings to enforce arbitration agreements and confirm or vacate arbitration awards, and has counseled clients who were facing arbitration-law-related problems in arbitration or litigation proceedings to which they were parties. He also has represented and counseled clients involved in other types of commercial or contract disputes.

Richard D. Faulkner, Principal | Faulkner ADR Law

Richard D. Faulkner is a nationally recognized arbitration and alternative dispute resolution authority who serves as principal attorney for Faulkner ADR Law and Of Counsel to Bennett Legal in Dallas. With more than 300 arbitration cases across commercial, construction, employment, insurance, and international disputes, Richard brings a rare depth of experience and insight to every matter. He is perhaps best known for serving as Arbitration Tribunal Chairman in the landmark Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports, Inc. v. SCA Promotions, Inc. case, where his decisive award made headlines worldwide.

• Education & Credentials

Richard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and holds a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, credentials that place him at the forefront of the arbitration field in the United States. He has been appointed as a deputy special master and mediator by multiple Federal District Courts and Texas courts, reflecting the trust placed in him across the legal community.

• Recognition & Leadership

Richard serves as National Programs Chairman for the American Bar Association’s Arbitration Committee and is a Master of the W.M. “Mac” Taylor, Jr. Inn of the American Inns of Court. His reputation for expertise and impartiality has led to repeated appointments as a special master and mediator by both federal and state courts, and his chairmanship of the high-profile Armstrong arbitration underscores his standing among the country’s leading neutrals.

• Professional Involvement

A dedicated educator, Richard is a seasoned Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution Law who has taught and mentored aspiring legal professionals in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Jordan, and the Kingdom of Malaysia. He is a Contributing Author to the ABA handbook on arbitration and has written numerous articles on arbitration and mediation, contributing substantially to scholarship and practice in the field.

• Experience

Over the course of more than 300 arbitration cases, Richard has served as arbitrator, tribunal chairman, special master, and mediator across a broad range of sectors, including commercial, construction, employment, insurance, and international disputes. His experience spans both the arbitration room and the courtroom, and his international teaching and practice give him a distinctive global perspective on cross-border dispute resolution. Today, through Faulkner ADR Law and his Of Counsel role at Bennett Legal, he continues to provide sophisticated counsel and neutral services to clients navigating complex disputes.

Charles A. Bennett, Founder and Lead Trial Attorney | Bennett Legal

Charles A. Bennett is the founder and lead trial attorney of Bennett Legal, a nationally recognized personal injury firm known for securing landmark verdicts, major arbitration awards, and high-value settlements. Regarded as one of the nation’s top civil trial lawyers—and a “lawyer’s lawyer” whom other attorneys consult on their most difficult cases—Charles handles complex matters involving 18-wheeler and commercial truck accidents, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, motor vehicle collisions, workplace injuries, and residential solar panel fraud. In the growing field of solar contract and financing fraud, he is widely regarded as a leading solar panel fraud attorney, helping families—often those targeted because of their language, age, or limited access to legal resources—expose deceptive practices and recover significant compensation.

• Education & Credentials

Charles earned his J.D. cum laude from SMU Dedman School of Law in 2014 and his B.S. from Midwestern State University in 2001, where he was an NCAA basketball standout who won two conference championships and was twice named Academic All-Conference. He is admitted to practice in Texas (2014) and before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and is an applicant member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).

• Recognition & Leadership

Charles has been invited to join the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a distinction reserved for attorneys who have demonstrated substantial trial experience, professionalism, integrity, and a commitment to the constitutional right to trial by jury. He has been named to Super Lawyers (2025) and recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Lawyer, and he holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a 10.0 rating from Avvo.

• Professional Involvement

Charles is an active member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, The National Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice. Bennett Legal remains deeply committed to the community, supporting local charitable initiatives and outreach programs, and Charles is frequently sought out by lawyers across the country for guidance on high-stakes litigation, trial strategy, case valuation, and insurance negotiations.

• Experience

Charles has built a record of landmark results for injured individuals and defrauded families nationwide. In 2025, he secured one of the largest jury verdicts in Dallas County that year in a complex wrongful death and personal injury case involving negligent security, with a final judgment exceeding $29.7 million after settlement credits. He won a $2.5 million workplace-injury arbitration against Amazon—confirmed by a Dallas County court under both the Texas Arbitration Act and the Federal Arbitration Act in Galiazzi v. Amazon.com Services, LLC—and resolved a commercial truck accident case against Ryder Truck Rental through aggressive litigation and strategic negotiation. Beyond his litigation practice, Charles leads a growing arbitration practice spanning international, business and commercial, consumer, workplace-injury, and solar financial-fraud disputes, demonstrating command of the entire process from initial filing through court-confirmed judgment. Earlier in his career—after competing as a professional basketball player in Europe—he secured international arbitration awards for professional athletes and agents, showcasing advanced advocacy skills long before becoming a nationally recognized attorney.

SESSION 1 – When a Sexual Harassment Plaintiff Can Still Elect Court Over Arbitration | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

This session examines the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) and the conditions under which a sexual harassment plaintiff can void a predispute arbitration agreement and litigate in court. Attorneys will analyze the statute’s core eligibility requirements — including the temporal trigger, the whole-case rule, and the pleading threshold — and learn how courts have applied each element since the EFAA’s March 3, 2022 enactment. Participants will leave with a working framework for evaluating whether a given client’s case qualifies for the court-election right and how to plead strategically to preserve it.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Executing the Arbitration Exit in a Sexual Harassment Case | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

This session covers the step-by-step mechanics of invoking the EFAA to exit a predispute arbitration agreement and litigate a sexual harassment case in court. Attorneys will learn how to plead qualifying claims with sufficient specificity, bundle related non-harassment claims under the whole-case rule, defeat delegation-clause and choice-of-law defenses, and handle mid-arbitration exit scenarios. Participants leave with a procedural execution checklist and jurisdiction-specific strategy for navigating the unresolved pleading-standard split.