Andy Cromer’s Judicial Experience

Beginning in 2003 and until 2016, I served as a resident North Carolina Superior Court Judge.  As judge, no true opportunity to mediate in its purest form presented itself. However, officiating discovery disputes bore some similarities – yet, even then, I was the final arbiter.  In all other disputes, except when a jury was impaneled, I made the decisions and either wrote the final opinion or order or instructed the parties to prepare a draft that I edited before entry.  My decisions were appealed hundreds of times but were rarely reversed by North Carolina’s appellate courts.

In 2016, I became the Senior Resident for Judicial District 17B.  In addition to continuing to hold court across the state, I was tasked with overseeing the handling of criminal and civil dockets and insuring that the work of the courts was handled efficiently.  This included ordering civil cases to mediation on a regular basis and overseeing that process.

During my time on the bench, I made decisions in thousands of cases, ranging from capital murder to simple assault in the criminal arena and major medical malpractice and unfair and deceptive complex business transaction to trespass in the civil theatre.  I presided over approximately 650 jury trials during my judicial career. The Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court frequently designated me to serve as a Rule 2.1 Judge over complex business and construction matters. In this role, I managed cases that involved multiple parties (national and international) and attorneys dealing with complex legal and factual scenarios.  

Judge Cromer’s Prior Legal Experience

My legal experience began as a law clerk to a federal judge in western Virginia.  This experience exposed me to a smorgasbord of cases which involved federal law (patents, trademarks, Robinson-Patman Act, etc.) as well as state law with interstate interests.  I was fortunate to thereafter begin practicing with some of the best lawyers first in Virginia and then North Carolina.

While practicing law from 1982 to 2002, I was involved as a trial attorney, in both jury and bench trials, in cases of products liability, serious personal injury and wrongful death, medical malpractice, shareholder derivative actions, insurance law, real property, condemnation, will and probate, business transactions, employment and discrimination (federal and state claims) and many other types of cases.  There were times in my legal career that I would represent criminal defendants, finding the trial skills associated with handling serious civil cases translated well to the criminal courtroom. However, civil trial work and litigation were my bread and butter.

As a trial lawyer, I represented clients through approximately twenty (20) jury trials and hundreds of bench trials in both federal and state courts in Virginia from 1982-86 and then North Carolina (1986-2002).  During my legal career, I appeared countless times to argue motions on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants (not at the same time) in front of some of these two states’ best jurists.

Judge Cromer’s Training and Experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution

I gained ADR experience while practicing law.  Any good lawyer had to evaluate both his case and client properly and simultaneously hone skills on how to best negotiate a favorable outcome for his client when settlement options were available.  I prided myself in resolving cases that were favorable for my clients and, I think ultimately, for all parties involved.

In the early 1990s, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered that all cases filed in Superior Court must be mediated prior to being called for trial.  With this change in procedure, I became involved in mediation for the first time with designated neutrals. Through this experience, I gained valuable insights on how the process could benefit all parties involved.  I represented parties through mediation involving contracts, products liability, unfair and deceptive trade practices and serious personal injury cases.

In January, 2019, the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission certified me as a Superior Court Mediator. I am a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and participate in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Division. I stand ready to assist litigants and their representatives in all forms of ADR: mediation, arbitration and serving as a neutral. I am also available to serve as a consultant on various types of cases that would benefit an additional evaluative set of eyes.