Mediation Arbitration Specialist

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.