By leading the national and international movement toward creation of business courts that solve business disputes cost-effectively and with greater predictability, Bob Haig has literally transformed the litigation landscape. Thirty years ago, the business community often avoided public courts in favor of arbitration and private dispute resolution. Now, in the numerous jurisdictions that have created business courts (including New York), businesses enthusiastically use and support these courts. Moreover, by removing complex business cases from other parts of the court system, business courts have allowed the other parts to function more efficiently. They have thus benefited entire court systems not only in New York, but throughout the world.

Bob’s work in spearheading the development and evolution of these courts is broad and deep. He co-chaired the Commercial Courts Task Force established by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye in 1995 to create and refine the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court—the largest, arguably the most successful and influential, and one of the first business courts in the United States. In 2008, Bob was inducted as an Honorary Charter Member of the American College of Business Court Judges in recognition of his work in developing business courts in New York and many other states and countries. That continued work later earned him a place on the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of the “Top 50 Litigation Trailblazers and Pioneers” (2014). A 2020 article in The Business Lawyer described Bob as “a driving force behind business-court development in the United States,” and a 2022 article stated that “Robert L. Haig is one of the principal architects of the modern development of business courts in the United States.”

Robert Haig. Photo: Ryland West/ALM