Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman, Former New York Appellate Justice, Joins DecisionLayer Arbitration Platform as Advisor

NEW YORK, October 15, 2026 — DecisionLayer, an online arbitration provider designed to make dispute resolution an order of magnitude faster and less expensive than conventional litigation and arbitration, has announced the appointment of Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman, former Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, as an advisor.

Founded by Liberty McAteer, a veteran tech lawyer, and William Ferrell, a Y Combinator alumnus and AI product developer, DecisionLayer administers arbitration entirely online. Its platform utilizes proprietary artificial intelligence software to assist with case administration and preparation of materials for review, while a qualified human arbitrator remains responsible for evaluating the dispute and issuing the award.

The company is designed around a straightforward problem: the cost and complexity of conventional litigation and arbitration can be disproportionate to the value of the underlying dispute at virtually every level. DecisionLayer filing fees begin at $500 and its process is designed to move matters from filing to a reasoned award in approximately 45 days.

“Technology presents an extraordinary opportunity to make dispute resolution more efficient, but efficiency cannot come at the expense of fairness, independence or sound judgment,” said Judge Scheinkman. “The first time Liberty showed me their technology in action, I was amazed. We all know AI can do incredible things, but their system was remarkable. I immediately asked Liberty about human oversight, and he told me that was exactly why we were talking. He asked me to join DecisionLayer so I could bring my experience to bear on ethical oversight and procedural fairness. I leapt at the opportunity.”

Judge Scheinkman brings decades of experience as a judge, public servant, arbitrator and mediator to DecisionLayer. He served as Westchester County Attorney, Administrative Judge of New York’s Ninth Judicial District, a Commercial Division Justice in Westchester County, and by designation on the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. He later served as Presiding Justice of New York State’s Appellate Division, Second Department, one of the busiest appellate courts in the United States.

DecisionLayer’s advisory board also includes Dennis Glazer, retired partner and head of Litigation at Davis Polk & Wardwell, who has also served on the boards of Lawrence Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and BRG Sports, and James Shaughnessy, Chief Legal Officer of Docusign and former General Counsel of Workday, Orbitz Worldwide, Lenovo and PeopleSoft.

“I spent my career litigating major disputes and have seen firsthand that litigation can become an end in itself,” said Glazer. “DecisionLayer is taking that problem seriously. Its approach allows entire classes of disputes to be resolved efficiently and fairly — including disputes that otherwise might never see the inside of a courtroom, or that are litigated at disproportionate expense to the dissatisfaction of everyone involved.”

“Companies have transformed virtually every other part of how they operate through technology, but dispute resolution remains remarkably expensive and slow,” said Shaughnessy. “DecisionLayer is building the kind of infrastructure sophisticated businesses increasingly expect: digital, integrated, predictable in cost and designed around the way companies actually work.”

DecisionLayer has developed an online arbitration platform, published procedural rules and model arbitration clauses, and provides an API allowing parties to integrate dispute resolution directly into their existing systems.

“We built DecisionLayer because there is an enormous category of disputes that are legally valid but economically irrational to resolve,” said McAteer. “A $20,000 or $50,000 contract claim should not require eighteen months and tens of thousands of dollars in process before somebody can get a decision. And this is not only a problem for smaller disputes. A million-dollar dispute can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate. Our goal is to radically reduce that cost and complexity while preserving fairness and human oversight.”

McAteer said DecisionLayer’s advisors reflect the company’s effort to combine technological innovation with deep institutional and legal experience.

“Alan, Dennis and Jim have collectively seen the legal system from almost every angle — from the bench, from one of the world’s leading litigation practices, and from the legal departments of some of the world’s largest technology companies,” said McAteer. “Their willingness to help us build this institution is an extraordinary vote of confidence in what we are doing.”

DecisionLayer is also building infrastructure for a world in which AI agents increasingly participate directly in commercial transactions and disputes. DecisionLayer’s API already supports both human and agentic participation, while maintaining clear rules governing fairness, transparency and human oversight.

“Our long-term goal is straightforward: continuously drive the time and cost of dispute resolution toward zero,” said McAteer. “Today, humans remain firmly in the driver’s seat. At the same time, we are building toward a world in which businesses and their authorized AI agents can resolve disputes as seamlessly as they conduct transactions.”

“DecisionLayer is the natural next stage in the evolution of dispute resolution, and we are committed to doing it the right way,” said Judge Scheinkman. “It is an exciting time, and I am thrilled to be aboard.”

DecisionLayer’s arbitration rules, fee schedule, model clauses and case simulator are available at https://decisionlayer.ai.

About DecisionLayer

DecisionLayer is a fully online arbitration provider combining experienced human arbitrators with AI-powered case analysis. DecisionLayer administers binding arbitration under published procedural rules, with filing fees starting at $500 and a process designed to issue reasoned awards in approximately 45 days. Humans and AI agents can participate in DecisionLayer’s dispute-resolution process through its API, allowing DecisionLayer arbitration to integrate seamlessly into the platforms and workflows users already rely on.

Media Contact

Liberty McAteer
Founder, DecisionLayer
DecisionLayer.ai