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Seven of us were selected to serve – six jurors and one alternate. I initially tried to guess who the alternate was but recognized it was futile. I had no real information from which to make that judgment. Our jury was composed of five men and two women. Two of the jurors were younger than 30; the rest of us ranged from 40s to 60s. Five of us were white, one was Hispanic and one was African American. One of the gentlemen was retired, while the rest of us were employed or had our own businesses. One of the younger jurors was in college, two of us had professional degrees and the remaining four had some post-secondary education.
This story begins with the receipt of a jury summons from the Orange County Courthouse in the first quarter of 2014. ... I had appeared for state court jury duty in the past but was never chosen to serve on the jury. I assumed this journey would entail the same experience – an opportunity to sit in the jury duty room, catch up on some reading, drink coffee, watch television and chat a little with those in the area. Just as I had selected my reading material and become comfortable in my surroundings, however, my name was called.
Interested in teaching, learning, or networking with diverse alternative dispute resolution practitioners, educators, and consumers of ADR? Join the ABA Dispute Resolution Section at it’s 18th Annual Spring Conference in New York next April.
Last week, our host city, Seattle, was the perfect backdrop for current and future leaders in the diverse world of ADR to interact and network; the city perfectly reflects the innovative and vibrant Pacific Northwest.
Plenaries, committee meetings, the Legal Educators Colloquium, and Symposium on ADR in the Courts joined the Finals of the National Advocacy in Mediation Competition, the awards luncheon, and dozens of practical, provocative and forward-looking conference sessions.
Efficient arbitration serves the interests of the parties in arbitration. Attorneys and arbitrators should understand what facilitates that goal of efficiency in order to reach it. Counsel should, right out of the box, provide all foundational documents governing the fact there will be an arbitration, such as the agreement or order to arbitrate. Then, on the preliminary case management call, counsel should be prepared to discuss the structure, rules, anticipated motions, dates, the need for third-party subpoenas and authority and geographic implications, discovery expectations, how discovery is to be produced and other issues.
Wednesday night (April 16, 2015), four teams of law students were given fact patterns in preparation for the semifinal rounds of the 2015 National Representation in Mediation Competition. Each team, consisting of two students, developed a presentation plan and competed through a seventy-five minute mock mediation today at the 17th Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference in Seattle. For the second year in a row, I had the good fortune to serve as a judge in the semifinals.
Hundreds of professionals from around the world started arriving in Seattle Wednesday (April 15, 2015) for the 17th Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference. Today, they are networking and presenting or attending concurrent sessions ranging from resolving sports disputes and awarding fees in arbitration to dealing with emotions in mediation and managing disputes in developing economies. The sessions will continue through Saturday.
Last week, I had the privilege of teaching the Mediation Theory & Practice class of my UWWM colleague Brandon Peters at Florida A&M University College of Law. I was glad to find the students bright and eager to learn the practical side of our profession. Our topic was representing clients at mediation. This required putting back on the advocacy hat and thinking about the process of mediation in a different way than in my daily job as mediator. As a neutral, we are motivated to facilitate the parties in making a decision for themselves. In examining how attorneys should represent clients at mediation, we reviewed the traditional role of a zealous advocate and what issues might arise during negotiations, such as lawyer-client conflicts of interest, non-economic concerns and other potential inhibitors to a deal.
This week, Seattle hosts the 17th Annual Spring Conference of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. This year's theme, "Solutions in Seattle" will bring together hundreds of both new and well seasoned ADR practitioners, educators, service providers, and advocates. Attendees will benefit from CLE programs and networking on every imaginable topic in the field.
This week, I learned about the professional bond shared by the international community of educators. After writing about my delivery of a lecture that felt “flat,” I invited my blog readers to provide advice about avoiding letdown after an exciting guest lecture by a veteran crisis negotiator. I received a great number of responses from teachers all over the world. Here are four of my favorites.
Recently, I addressed members of the Florida Justice Association at its annual Workhorse Conference in Orlando, Fla. The presentation was titled “Deconstructing Mediation: Finding Leverage and Maintaining Tactical Advantage in Mediation.” The conference was aimed at trial attorneys who focus primarily on representing claimants, having expanded over the years to include a variety of substantive areas of law. I have delivered similar presentations to a variety of groups over the years, which I will summarize as my “Tips for Strategic Negotiation":