Professional Neutral
Honorable Andrea L. Rocanelli (Ret.)
Founder
After an accomplished career in public service, Judge Rocanelli founded Delaware ADR to offer sophisticated parties with efficient, effective, and durable resolutions of complex disputes. An experienced jurist with a reputation for fairness and integrity, Judge Rocanelli served as a professional fact-finder in scores of bench trials and presided over hundreds of jury trials. As a judge in Delaware’s unique legal environment, Judge Rocanelli presided over complex commercial cases that required interpretation and application of federal law, Delaware law and the law of other jurisdictions.
At Delaware ADR, Judge Rocanelli’s comprehensive judicial and legal experience, coupled with her tenacity, people skills, and training in interpersonal dynamics, translate seamlessly into solutions for complex commercial and corporate disputes. These skills are particularly vital in disputes involving strong personalities or clients whose emotional investment complicates negotiations. Her process-oriented approach involves a thorough command of the facts and legal issues, as well as the interests and concerns of the parties.
Judge Rocanelli has successfully resolved matters involving federal and state law across a range of legal subject areas, including cases where previous mediators had failed. Even where disputes seem intractable, she is committed to achieving durable agreements that advance business goals by identifying creative solutions, often beyond those typically available in contested litigation.
Dispute Resolution Training
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University
Negotiation Workshop, Harvard Law School
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI)
Arbitration Training Institute, American Bar Association
Certified Commercial Law Arbitrator, Delaware State Bar Association
Honors & Awards
National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN)
NADN is an invitation-only professional association whose membership consists of mediators & arbitrators distinguished by their hands-on experience in the field of civil & commercial dispute resolution.
Women’s Leadership Award by the Delaware State Bar Association
Awarded to a member of the Delaware Bar whose character, strength, personality, achievement and activities in matters affecting women lawyers have served as an inspiration to and a model for women lawyers in their professional careers.
Judicial Partnership Award by the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Awarded to a leader who advanced the causes of individuals challenged with mental health and/or substance abuse disorders.
Recognition by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs
Award for her outstanding contribution to the bench, bar and public through efforts to maintain the integrity of the legal professions and improve the quality of life for lawyers.
Commissioner of SENTAC
Appointed as a judicial representative to statewide sentencing commission.
Judge Rocanelli received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Boston College, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Prior to her appointment to the Delaware judiciary, Judge Rocanelli engaged in private practice in Boston and Delaware and served as Chief Counsel of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the Delaware Supreme Court, with responsibility for the practice of law and legal ethics in the state of Delaware.
Judge Rocanelli’s interest in alternative dispute resolution started in law school, where she was trained by Professor Roger Fisher in the seminal Harvard Negotiation Workshop. Judge Rocanelli is a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals and has sought out mediation training to refine her skills.
Judge Rocanelli was appointed to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware by Governor Jack A. Markell in 2013, after serving as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas by appointment of Governor Markell in April 2009. In addition to adjudicating a wide range of matters throughout the civil and criminal justice systems as a Delaware jurist, Judge Rocanelli served as the presiding judge of the Unified Mental Health Court and the Drug Diversion Program. Consistent with Judge Rocanelli’s efforts for conflict resolution, she participated in Crisis Intervention Team training in de-escalation techniques and mental health crisis management for first-responders.
By appointment of the Delaware Supreme Court, Judge Rocanelli served as a member of various commissions and committees, including the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, Permanent Advisory Committee of the Delaware Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct, Delaware Commission on Continuing Education and the Permanent Advisory Committee on the Delaware Uniform Rules of Evidence. She has also served on committees of the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA), including the DSBA Committee on Access to Justice in CCP Consumer Debt Collection Actions and the DSBA Committee on Diversity.
