Mediation Arbitration Specialist

ADR Section Annual Meeting 2013

This past weekend at the State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section's Annual Meeting and Conference I was selected to chair the section starting in September of 2014. This will be a great challenge, but with the help of those of you who are members of the section, we can meet all the challenges that ADR faces in the coming year. This year at the Annual Meeting there were multiple presenters, all of whom were "home grown" inculding my presentation with Mary Bedikian on the RUAA.  The content was excellent as were the presenters. I urge those of you out there who follow this blog to join the section, if you have not done it already, and get active. Help me to work on the ADR challeges that will arise in the coming years. Additionally, I will be moderating and presenting at the Advanced Dispute Resolution Institute sponsored by the ADR Section and ICLE the arbitration track. There will be some very good tips on growing your ADR business, managing the process, discussing the new American Arbitration Commercial Rules, and a fantastic update on cases and laws effecting arbitration. So plan on attending.

Well my term is over as the chair of the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan and it was a very energizing and satisfying experience. But I am not going to sit on my laurels. On November 18th I will be one of 4 trainers presenting a basic arbitration training program sponsored jointly by the American Arbitration Association and the ADR Section to be held at the State Bar Offices in Lansing, Michigan. On December 3rd I will be presenting a program sponsored by the American Arbitration Association to be held at the Southfield offices of Jaffe, Raitt on the topic of Med-Arb. I will continue to participate in the activities of the ADR Section as its Past Chair, and look forward to writing more in this blog on specific topics of interests. Take a look at these programs. I would like to see you all there.

this is to alert you that by order of the Michigan Supreme Court, a Mediation Pilot project has been authorized and will be implemented which provides that at any time during the pendency of an appeal before the Michigan Court of Appeals, the chief judge or another designated judge may order an appeal be submitted to mediation to be conducted by a mediator selected by the parties or designated by the Court. The mediator may charge a reasonable fee, which will be divided by the parties. For further information see Administrative Order No 2015-8

On November 18th at the State Bar of Michigan's Lansing HQ, I will be the moderator for a basic arbitrator skills training program. This will be the first one of its kind in Michigan and is a joint effort between the the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the American Arbitration Association. You can get more information and sign up for this program at: http://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MICHBAR/19aeea9e-4ffe-48f5-91af-5059bc9b29bb/UploadedImages/pdfs/ADRRegNov.pdf

Finally, after two years in the planning, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan along with the American Arbitration Association is making available a basic arbitration training course to be held on November 18th 2015 at the State Bar of Michigan Offices in Lansing, Michigan. This program will be limited to 24 participants at a cost of $250.00 at will start at 8:30 AM and conclude at 5:30 PM. The cost includes lunch and snacks during the day and all program materials. Mary Bedikian and Sam McCargo, both of whom have extensive arbitration experience, will be the primary trainers, and Jan Holdinski of AAA and I will also be adding our insights and observations. This is the first time a basic arbitration skills course has been offered in the State of Michigan. Prior to this course, the only way to get basic arbitration training was to be admitted to a AAA panel who then required and offered the basic course training. It was almost like "putting the cart before the horse". Two years ago the ADR Section thought this should be a high priority to establish and I am proud to see it to fruition. If you want to be a part of this training program, let me know and I will make sure you get the information on how to register. Remember it will be first come first serve. I hope to see you there.

I just received a blurb on tips relative to the use of social mediator by mediators and arbitrators that I wanted to pass on:Tips for Avoiding a Social Networking Faux Pas



Do you use social networking as a way to grow your mediation practice? If so, below are some important tips for cautionary social networking in your mediation practice, depending on which site(s) you use:

LinkedIn—Indiscriminate connections on LinkedIn is a particularly risky endeavor, which is why it is important to make sure that your business’ LinkedIn connections are all legitimate members of your offline network. Since this site is used for strictly business networking purposes, having a connection that has a bad reputation or has done something professional disreputable could end up hurting your business.

Facebook—Facebook works differently and is used for different purposes, so “friending” indiscriminately is more widespread on this social networking site. However, be sure that your “friends” are not able to post on your Facebook wall without their post first being approved. This is easy to do—just change your Facebook privacy settings to require approval on all posts.

Twitter—Some of the more recent scandals involving professionals and celebrities seem to start with a careless tweet on this site, so it is important to remember that your updates are public, each and every time you use the service. What you write will not only reflect on you as a person—it will also reflect on your business.

What are some of attorneys beefs about mediators.. they include attorneys who insist on joint sessions or refuse to convene joint sessions. In short, you must know the parties and advocates and chose the right path. Another beef is that mediators often give up too early. While there is always a desire not to waste the parties' time and money, often times when you reach an impasse that is when resolution becomes possible. Try to push through it using all the tools you have learned. A third beef is about mediators who do not require and encourage the sharing of mediation statements.. This is an important time to get approaches and views on the table and sets the stage for the mediation. Finally, attorneys often complain about mediators who, when requested or appropriate, will not meet with the attorneys outside the presence of their clients. If this comes up, you should not shy away from this, but tell their clients that sometimes during the course of a mediation it becomes important for you, as the mediator, to address some technical issues outside their presence and ask them if that is ok with them.. and then proceed. If they object then you are off the hook.

Activities of the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan

As previously reported, I am the current chair of the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan. The ADR Section Council has organized a number of "Action Teams" to deliver services to our Section members, the Bar and the public. These Action Teams are open to all Section members and present the best opportunity to become active in the Section and the Council. I am inviting my readers to join as many Action Teams as they would like. To acquaint my followers with our ADR Section Action Teams, I have incldued a brief summary of the work they are currently undertaking and an email address for each Action Team's chairperson. We are actively seeking and would be grateful to have additional  input and involvement on any of these teams. Most meetings are brief and by conference call, for the participants convenience. To join an Action Team or simply talk to an Action Team chair to see if you would like to get involved, email the chair of the team in which you are interested or email me ([email protected]) . Besides the activities of these ongoing Action Teams, the ADR Section works closely with the Supreme Court Administrative Office ("SCAO") and various Community Dispute Resolution Centers ("CDRC") on ADR projects and issues. We encourage all to be involved with and support your local CDRC. I look forward to working with you through an Action Team or hearing from you as to any ideas or concerns you have regarding the Section. We urge you to consider joining us at our March 17, 2015 Advanced Mediation Training Program featuring renowned mediator, trainer and writer Kimberlee Kovach to be held at Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills as well as our Annual Conference and Training Program on Friday, October 2, 2015, and Saturday, October 3, 2015, at The Park Place Hotel in Traverse City, Michigan, featuring local renowned mediators, trainers and writers. You can register by going on the Section's State Bar website. 

CTION TEAMS OF THE ADR SECTION FOR ALL SECTION MEMBERS TO JOIN:

• Effective Practices and Procedures Team ("EPP") – (Mark Stanley ) EPP offers comments and recommendations concerning proposed legislation and court rules impacting ADR in Michigan. The Team was successful in assisting the passage of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act by the Michigan legislature.
• Judicial Action Team ("JAT") – (William Caprathe [email protected]) JAT advances ADR goals as they pertain to courts throughout Michigan and promotes ADR awareness in the federal, state and local judiciary. In 2012, the  team worked with the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan to adopt a new local court rule promoting ADR in all bankruptcy cases.
• Membership Team – (Celeste S. McDermott [email protected]) Membership's goal is to raise awareness in the ADR community of all that the ADR Section has accomplished and that the Section has to offer. This team also seeks to increase ways to meet the needs of ADR professionals and thereby increase the number of members and affiliates in the Section who will want to join in the very beneficial work of the Section.
• Outreach Team – (Nina Dodge Abrams [email protected]andMarc Stanley [email protected]) The goal of Outreach is to increase awareness among the public in general, attorneys, businesses, schools, governmental entities and agencies, and any other potential end users of ADR, about what ADR is and its benefits.  A significant undertaking of this team is coordinating activities with and supporting the Michigan Mediates! campaign, a program of the Dispute Resolution Education Resources, Inc.(DRER). This Michigan Mediates! public awareness initiative is designed to acquaint Michigan residents with the benefits of mediation through a website, public service announcements, community forums and other means. The Outreach Team also will be working with CDRCs to help promote ADR in educational settings and will be reaching out to special interest groups such as the LGBT community, low income individuals and the elderly communities to determine how ADR might best address some of their unique dispute resolution needs.
• Publications Team – (Lee Hornberger [email protected]) Publications solicits, reviews, and publishes articles for a quarterly newsletter for ADR Section members and affiliates and collects and edits articles for an ADR theme issue of the State Bar Journal. It is also responsible for postings to our e-mail listserv that keeps our members informed of Section activities and related ADR news.
• Section to Section Team ("STS") – (Don Gasiorek [email protected] ) STS strives to increase collaboration with other sections of the State Bar and local bar associations with a view toward enhancing the use of the ADR for members of this Section and those of other sections as well. In doing so, STS has in the past put on programs for or collaborated with other sections in presenting educational programs about ADR. Those collaborating sections have included the Young Lawyers, Litigation, and Family Law, to name a few.
• Skills Team – (Sheldon Stark [email protected] ) Skills is responsible for planning advanced skills programs in ADR throughout the year. The primary programing includes skills programming several times during the year including telephonic or webcast mini-trainings on various ADR topics.
• Diversity Task Force—(Earlene Baggett-Hayes [email protected])The Diversity Task Force was formed to promote and support diversity in the field of ADR, increase the cultural competence of ADR providers and enlarge opportunities for minorities in ADR. More specifically, the Task Force is looking into ways to implement some or all of the recommendations of the Task Force on Diversity in ADR that was convened by the State Bar. See that Task Force's report by going to http://www.michbar.org/adr/pdfs/TaskForce_Diversity.pdf.
• Governmental Task Force ("GTF") – (Brian Pappas [email protected]) The GTF was formed to provide short-term assistance to departments and agencies of the State of Michigan and local governmental units. GTF has presented trainings to the Attorney General's office, is working with the Governor's office to provide mediation as a cost-effective alternative to litigation and to promote its use throughout the state and has support the cities of Ann Arbor and Inkster in facilitating discussions of various issues in those communities.

 

 

 

ICLE has cancelled the annual Advanced Dispute Resolution Institute normally held in March. As a result the ADR Section of the State Bar of Michigan will hold its own program on March 17th, 2015 and will feature the nationally renowned Mediator, Trainer, and Author, Kimberly Kovach. It will be a worthwhile advanced mediation training program. I urge all to attend. You will be able to register on the State Bar of Michigan ADR Section web site. Additionally I have started my term as the Chair of the ADR Section. We have a lot of exciting programs in mind for the year in order to build relationships among ADR providers as well as educational training and ways to build our respective ADR Practices. Those of you who are members of the State Bar of Michigan, Take a look at the Section's Website and join our "Merry Band".

This is just a note to remind everyone that on the 17th and 18th the ADR Section of State Bar of Michigan will hold its Annual Meeting and Seminar featuring Cheryl Cutrona a nationally recognized mediator and trainer who present on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Friday evening will be our annual dinner and awards banquet and Saturday morning will be a short business meeting when I take over the Chairmanship. We have some exciting things going on this year and I will start keeping you up to date on those here as well as on the State Bar Website..

It has been a while since I have written anything. But I am now back in full swing. I have just been admitted to the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals ( NADN) . You should check out their web site and look at the quality of those that have been selected at www. nadn.org