With extensive experience handling complex disputes, Holly brings deep substantive knowledge to her work as an arbitrator and a commitment to neutrality, ensuring a fair and balanced process for all parties.
Holly skillfully manages every stage of arbitration, from discovery to hearings, keeping proceedings efficient while upholding the rights of advocates and parties.
Holly recognizes that parties demand an arbitrator who can skillfully manage the process of discovery, motions, and multi-party hearings to provide an efficient and cost saving process while respecting the needs of advocates and parties’ rights to a full and fair process.
More than 40 years of Experience
Holly Stein Sollod serves on the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Panel of Arbitrators, including the Large Complex Commercial Panel, Financial Services Panel, National Securities Panel, the Joint Venture and Mergers & Acquisitions Panel, the Consumer Panel, and the Cannabis Panel.
Holly also qualified to act as an international arbitrator on the International Centre for Dispute Resolution Arbitration Panel (ICDR), and the Center for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Panel of Distinguished Neutrals (CPR): Banking, Accounting Panel, and Financial Services, Hedge Funds, and the Colorado At-Large Panel.
Holly was inducted as a Fellow into the College of Commercial Arbitrators in 2008, and as a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) in 2018.
She has extensive experience as chair, sole arbitrator, and as wing in a wide variety of industries and subject matters. Holly is experienced handling dispositive motions, discovery disputes, expedited and emergency remedies, reasoned awards, and findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Core Areas of Expertise
Arbitration Experience
Holly first joined the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Commercial Panel in 1989. She now serves on several AAA national panels, including the Large Complex Commercial Panel, the Securities Panel, the Financial Services Panel, the Technology Panel, the Cannabis Panel, the Mergers and Acquisitions/Joint Venture Panel, and the Consumer Panel. Holly is also qualified to sit as an arbitrator for the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the specialty panels of the Centre for Dispute Resolution (CPR), including the Banking, Accounting, Financial Services Panel, the Hedge Fund Panel and the At-Large Colorado Panel.
Holly is highly experienced in handling dispositive motions, discovery disputes, expedited and emergency remedies, reasoned awards and findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Over the past 35 years, Holly has presided over arbitrations as chair, sole arbitrator and as member of a panel in a wide variety of industries and subject matters, such as:
- Cryptocurrency disputes, involving multiple parties asserting breach of contract, misrepresentations and fraud in connection with the sale of a business.
- Mining disputes involving reserves, royalties and misrepresentations to investors.
- Software and trade secret disputes involving breach of licensing agreement, royalties and patent rights arising out of sale of a technology business.
- Business divorce disputes involving multiple owners and interests in technology companies, resorts, healthcare, mining, and life sciences.
- Fraud and negligence claims asserted in lender liability arrangements, franchise agreements, vacation rentals, insurance coverage, indemnification, professional liability, receiverships, and Ponzi schemes.
Holly is proficient at deciding disputes unique to regulated sectors, such as financial services, banking and healthcare.
- Wing arbitrator in complex commercial AAA arbitration alleging breach of intellectual property and restricted stock agreements in sale of Crypto market-making algorithm.
- Sole arbitrator in dispute involving breach of shareholder services agreement, breach of stock purchase agreements and loan agreements, involving M&A issues, breach of fiduciary duty, federal securities laws and blue-sky issues.
- Chair of AAA arbitration panel involving overcharges for shareholder services provided to non-retirement accounts in the Mutual Funds for which Claimant served as principal underwriter and distributor. Claims involved breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, violation of Massachusetts Unfair Business Practices Act, fraudulent concealment, conversion and negligent misrepresentation. Damages sought in excess of $15.5 million.
- Sole arbitrator in AAA arbitration dispute brought by customer against investment advisors and between investment advisors and account custodians.
- Sole arbitrator in AAA arbitration involving claims for breach of Advisor-Manager Agreement alleging Respondents failure to pay management fees due and owing, and breach of non-compete and confidentiality provisions of Adviser-Manager Agreement.
- Sole arbitrator in AAA arbitration involving $1.28 million dollar dispute brought by investors in conservation easements sold as tax shelters under California law.
- Sole arbitrator in AAA arbitration among LLC members to decide rightful ownership of interests in a resort, involving claims of fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of operating agreement, expulsion and dissociation under the Wyoming LLC Act.
- Member of AAA arbitration panel deciding dispute over financing of the design and development of cultivation and processing facility for medical cannabis. Claims involved breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and appointment of a receiver.
College of Commercial Arbitrators, Annual Meeting, 2008-2024; ACE 23 and Ace 24; ACE 22- Process essentials for AAA arbitrators, 2022 ; ACE21 Impartiality: Do You Know Where Your Biases Are? ; 2021 AAA-ICDR Panel Conference; ACE20 Cyber Security: A Shared Responsibility, 2020; AAA ACE19 Case Finances: What Arbitrators Need to Know, 2019; Arbitrator Performance and Demeanor ~ Meeting Participant Expectations, 2018; CCA 17th Annual Meeting, 2017; Dealing with Difficult Attorneys in Arbitration ACE13, 2016; AAA Arbitration Awards – Safeguarding, Deciding and Writing Awards ACE01, 2015; AAA Principled Deliberations, 2014;AAA Managing the Arbitration Process for Efficiency & Economy Following the Preliminary Hearing, 2012; College of Commercial Arbitrators Annual Meeting, 2011, 2010, 2008; FINRA, Revised Code of Arbitration, 2007; AAA Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics ACE05, 2006, 2005; AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training: Advanced Case Management Issues, 2004; AAA Arbitrator Update 2003; AAA Arbitrator I Training-Fundamentals of the Arbitration Process, 2002; Conflict Dispute Resolution Association, Mediator Training, 2002; NASD Chairperson Securities Training, 1996; various other ADR training.
“Arbitration of Cryptocurrency Disputes” Panelist, 2024 ABA Business Section Spring Meeting, Orlando Florida.
“From the Courtroom to the Zoom Room,” Holland & Hart News Update, Co-Author, 05/01/2020.
“10th Circuit Affirms FINRA Arbitration Award—Adopts Face-of-the-Award Rule,” Holland & Hart News Update, 04/15/2020
- American Arbitration Association (Large Complex Case Panel, Financial Services, Joint Venture and Mergers & Acquisitions Panel, Technology Panel, Securities Panel, Consumer Panel and Cannabis Panel)
- The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
- The Center for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Panel of Distinguished Neutrals (CPR): Banking, Accounting and Financial Services, Hedge Funds and Colorado At Large Panels
- The Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA), Non-Public, formerly known as NASD.
- Fellow, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA)
- Member, National Association of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN)
- Lifetime Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- American Bar Association (Litigation, Dispute Resolution Section and Business Law Dispute Resolution Committee, Women in Dispute Resolution Committee)
Litigation Experience
In private practice since 1982, Holly’s nationwide trial practice focused on complex commercial litigation, in state and federal courts, including class actions. Holly joined a New York City boutique litigation firm out of law school in 1981. In 1983, the American Stock Exchange, Inc. (Amex) hired Holly as Senior Counsel in its corporate in-house department. Later, Holly was appointed the Director of Hearings and Arbitrations at the Amex, where she oversaw disciplinary and arbitration hearings.
In 1986, Holly moved to Colorado and returned to private practice at the largest Rocky Mountain Regional law firm, Holland & Hart LLP. For the next 38 years, Holly became well-versed in all facets of complex commercial litigation. Her cases typically alleged claims of antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, breach of contract, fraud, product liability, RICO, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth In Lending Act, insurance, consumer protection, business divorce, partnership and limited liability company disputes, licensing, international franchise agreements, cannabis operations, biotech, cryptocurrency, covenants not to compete, employment, lender liability, Fair Credit Reporting Act, cybersecurity, earn-out agreements, merger & acquisition disputes, and ERISA fee litigation.
Holly learned the business of the securities industry firsthand as a lawyer at the American Stock Exchange, Inc. in New York. After returning to private practice in Colorado, her clients included companies and their executives and senior management facing securities claims from both private investors and regulators. As a result, Holly handled securities related cases for most of her career, earning the respect of both judges and adversaries, whether in the courtroom or arbitration setting. Clients from around the country hired Holly to represent them in arbitrations, confident in her knowledge of the complex industry issues present in such cases. Holly represented individual and corporate clients in regulatory investigations involving Ponzi schemes, the sale of annuities, insider trading, supervision, fraud, reverse mergers, accounting fraud issues and market timing. She was frequently hired as counsel to audit committees in conducting internal corporate investigations, and as counsel to Special Litigation Committees.
Holly represented a variety of clients in actions involved in diverse industries such as cryptocurrency, software development, artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals oncology medication, global information technology consulting services, oil and natural gas development, IT cybersecurity software and consulting, multinational developers of quality control products/critical environments for pharmaceutical, healthcare, research, manufacturing, and service spaces, and cross-border money transfers.
Holly represented owners, members, and investors in private and public companies, including partnership, limited liability companies, start-ups, in a wide range of disputes, including breach of fiduciary duty, bad faith, theft of trade secrets, breach of operating agreements, and disputed dissolutions in federal and state courts.
Holly also represented U.S. public companies in a cross-border disputes over non-payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) from marketing efforts in Europe, a U.S. public company in an attempted enforcement of a foreign money judgment issued in Republic of Congo proceeding, a U.S. client in a $100 million dispute with a Chinese company involving termination of Master Supply Agreement and Master Services Agreement for software and hardware, and acted as co-counsel for a Singapore client in arbitration involving termination of franchise agreement by a U.S. franchisor.
She is licensed in New York and Colorado.
General Information
- Admitted to the Bar: New York, 1982
- Admitted to the Bar: Colorado, 1986
- United States Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit and Ninth Circuit
Holly Stein Sollod ADR LLC (2025-present); Senior Partner, Holland & Hart LLP (2023-2025); Partner, Holland & Hart LLP (1990-2022); Associate, Holland & Hart LLP (1986-1989); Director of Arbitration and Disciplinary Hearings/Senior Attorney, The American Stock Exchange, Inc. (1984-1986); Litigation Associate, Townley & Updike, New York, New York (1981-1984).
Cornell University (BA)
New York University School of Law (JD)
- Colorado Super Lawyers, Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2024, 2025
- The Best Lawyers in America©, Commercial Litigation and Securities/Capital Markets, 2013-2025
- The Best Lawyers in America© International Arbitration Commercial, 2023
- Colorado Super Lawyers, Securities Litigation, 2010-2023
- Top 50 Women Lawyers in Colorado by Super Lawyers, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2022
- Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent Rating – Judicial Edition
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