Readers of the South Florida Daily Business Review chose Upchurch Watson White & Max as the winner in the alternative dispute resolution category for the newspaper's "Best of 2021" competition. The results have had to be kept under wraps until today, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, to coincide with the publishing of a special section listing the winners.

Earlier this week, Robert A. "Bob" Cole, a principal and mediator with Upchurch Watson White & Max, and Sarah I. Zabel, a South Florida-based neutral, presented a continuing legal education Webinar as part of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association's Trial Series -- Arbitration and Mediation Skills. Their specific topic was professionalism in negotiation and how it consistently improves mediation results for attorneys.

Today, Nov. 4, 2021, Best Lawyers® announced several top rankings for Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group in the 2022 Edition of U.S. News - Best Lawyers' "Best Law Firms." To be eligible for these rankings, a firm must have at least one attorney who is recognized in the current edition of Best Lawyers in a "Best Law Firms" ranked practice area and metro area. UWWM attorney mediators currently have nine recognitions from Best Lawyers® for mediation and arbitration. 

You probably know that Mediation Week is always in October, but all of the upcoming events for dispute resolution professionals couldn't fit in a single month, let alone a week. UWWM Shareholder Richard Lord recently wrote an article about all of the season's learning opportunities offered by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution.

Mr. Schulz is now available to mediate or arbitrate throughout the state.

UWWM Principal Robert A "Bob" Cole led a contingent of the firm's panel members for an appearance at this year's annual convention of the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The firm had sponsored the cocktail hour leading up to the organization's awards banquet, and mediator/arbitrators Carl Schwait and Fred Lauten were on hand along with Bob for the evening.

Mediators based at five of Upchurch Watson White & Max's Florida offices have been selected for inclusion in the 2021 Super Lawyers® list for the state. All of them have been included on this list for at least five years, and all were selected for their primary practice area of ADR. They are: Firm Principal Rodney A. Max, Steven R. Jaffe and John B. Marion IV, all based in South Florida; Renée E. Thompson, Central and North Central Florida; and Firm Principal Robert A. Cole, Central and North Florida.

Richard Lord, UWWM shareholder and mediator, plans to accept an invitation from Senior Legal Skills Professor Joan Stearns Johnsen to join the Advisory Board of the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. The Advisory Board will comprise "Levin College of Law alumni whose area of practice is primarily dispute resolution whether as a neutral or a practitioner," Professor Johnsen wrote.

After 30 years in the judiciary, Rick Orfinger begins mediating and arbitrating in earnest this month. Before his time on the bench, the Daytona Beach native was locally prominent as a shareholder in two law firms.