Personal bio

2023 to Present, GBCLASSONADR LLC - PRINCETON, NJ:

Principal in GBClassonADR LLC, providing independent, ADR neutral services both as a mediator and arbitrator; member of the following rosters/panels - Rule 1:40 roster of civil mediators for the New Jersey Superior Court; roster of public arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA); register of mediators for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the So. Dist. of New York; USCIB/ICC USA listed neutral for arbitration and mediation; and the roster of commercial and consumer arbitrators and mediators for the American Arbitration Association.

2000 – 2021, SOLVAY USA./RHODIA USA – PRINCETON, NJ:

Served as business counsel for a number of divisions of this European-based manufacturer of chemicals used in a variety of industrial applications, including for metal mining and refining, oil and gas production, home and personal care product manufacturing, as well as a division for the processing of bulk aspirin and acetaminophen, and the contract development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients; legal advisor for financial transactions and from served as corporate finance counsel in Paris, France for parent company Rhodia S.A., later purchased by Solvay S.A., advising on the negotiation and administration of debt restructuring transactions supporting Rhodia’s successful financial turnaround in 2007; in-house legal advocate in an ad hoc arbitration before a single arbitrator for resolution of a restrictive covenant compliance dispute on an expedited basis with a major French bank.

1981 - 1999, METALLGESELLSCHAFT (NYC), AROCHEM CORPORATION (STAMFORD, CT), TRANSWORLD OIL (NYC):

Corporate counsel at these international corporations which engaged in the wholesale trade of crude oil and petroleum products in both physical, derivative and futures markets, and variously owned, operated or financed refineries and other energy industry assets; managed business affairs of AroChem for a Ch. 7 bankruptcy trustee through the sale of its petrochemical plant assets in Puerto Rico. In-house legal advocate for a variety of commercial and maritime legal disputes, which included a charter party dispute arbitration under the rules of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, two ad hoc commercial contract dispute arbitrations under UNCITRAL Rules, and a commercial contract dispute mediation.

Hofstra University - Maurice A. Deane School of Law - J.D., 1981
Tufts University - B.A., Philosophy, 1978
Licenses: New York State Bar, New Jersey Bar, U.S. Dist. Ct. for the So. Dist. of N.Y.
Professional Associations: Member - New York State Bar Association - Dispute Resolution Section (appointed Treasurer August 2024), Maritime Law Association of the United States; NJ Assoc. of Professional Mediators; Garibaldi Inn for ADR (American Inns of Court); Fellow - Chartered Institute of Arbitrators