The Global Pound Conference Visits Miami
Mediators Richard Lord and Ricardo Cata recently joined other neutrals, educators, judges, business executives, inside and external counsel at the University of Miami’s Newman Alumni Center for the Global Pound Conference Series (GPC) event in Miami. The purpose of the GPC is to gauge the current state of commercial dispute resolution from the perspectives of varied stakeholders, and to generate ideas and data to inform where alternative dispute resolution goes from here. About 40 events in 31 countries began with Singapore in March 2016 and will conclude with London in July 2017. The Miami GPC (April 2017) along with those in New York, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Baltimore (June 8, 2017) constitute the U.S. stops and opportunities for influencing the “global” state of ADR.
Harvard Professor Addresses ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s Conference
Friday, at our ABA DR Section Spring Conference in New York City, attendees heard from Francesca Gino of the Harvard Business School. Professor Gino spoke on the science of making better decisions, and her talk highlighted the importance of being aware of how we make decisions and to deal with factors that can derail sound decision making. Brain science is important as we are hard-wired in certain ways, and I direct you to my colleague Michelle Jernigan’s related webinar on brain science to learn more. Also this morning, Texas A&M University School of Law was awarded the ABA Representation in Mediation Competition Championship trophy. Again, as a judge, I saw firsthand how law schools are preparing students to serve as effective advocates in mediation. All teams that made the finals in New York had worked hard to advance out of their regional competitions.
ABA Dispute Resolution Section Welcomes U.N. Official and Kicks off Spring Conference With Learning
This morning, attendees of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution’s 18th Annual Spring Conference in NYC heard from Johnston Barkat, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations. Sharing insights from around the world, he spoke of the importance of many of the keys to dispute resolution. Emotional and cognitive intelligence, safe psychological spaces, diversity of thought, and procedural fairness are not only vital to us all as mediators, but also to the transformation of systems. And later, the first of dozens of concurrent learning systems kicked off our three-day day conference.
We Look Back at UWWM’s 2015
January saw the opening of our current West Palm and Miami offices bringing the number of our South Florida conference rooms to 21. I have enjoyed working in our West Palm, Plantation, and Miami offices and look forward to being there more frequently in 2016.
Here is a partial list of what some of my UWWM colleagues have been up to in 2015.
It’s a Wrap, Seattle
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.
Pre-Arbitration Preparation — Being a Better Advocate
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.
ADR Education on Display in Seattle
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.
Advocates, Educators, Students and Neutrals Convene in Seattle
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.
ADR Section Presents ‘Solutions in Seattle’
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.
Florida Mediator Advises Health-Care Companies: Heal Thyself
Disputes within the healthcare system are a reality, and may become more frequent. You have seen it in your hometown no doubt, the signs of consolidation among healthcare providers. You may have been a part of one yourself. We have been in a period of such marriages, partly driven by the competitive advantages of such unions, the economic/reimbursement environment in which healthcare is delivered, and the impact on the practical day-to-day division of labor between and among those in the healthcare fields.
