By Ryan Thompson
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

MONROE PLACE — Attorney J. Machelle Sweeting, the senior principal law clerk to L. Priscilla Hall, associate justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, has been named “Arbitrator of the Year.�

Sweeting told the Eagle that it was very unexpected.

“I think I said that I was on cloud 99,� Sweeting said about the moment she heard the news.

The Association of Arbitrators named Sweeting “Arbitrator of the Year� for her service at the Harlem Small Claims Court. Arbitrators are attorney volunteers who preside over 95 percent of the cases heard in New York City’s Small Claims Courts, which involve civil disputes by everyday New Yorkers.

Despite working for years in the courts of Kings County, Sweeting grew up and still lives in Harlem. The idea of becoming an arbitrator first came to Sweeting when she was studying at Rutgers School of Law in Newark.

“One of the ways in which I can provide a service to my community is to become an arbitrator,� Sweeting recalled a law-school mentor telling her.

So, once eligible, Sweeting did just that. She has been an arbitrator in Harlem since 2004, volunteering nearly every Thursday. Arbitrators must be attorneys with five years of experience, go through training and pass a panel’s evaluation of temperament and ability.

Several other arbitrators around New York City have been selected to receive this year’s award, along with Sweeting. One arbitrator from each of the countys’ Small Claims courts were named, she said.

The awards ceremony will be held on Nov. 5 at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South.

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