Symposium on ADR in the Courts
The Symposium will be held at the Denver Central Library Downtown
10 W. Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy. 80204
April 13, 2011
The Library doors open at 10 am. Plan to arrive after 10:15 am to avoid the early morning library rush. Enter the Library at the West doors (closest to the Art Museum Building).
10:15 - 10:30 am Registration and Continental Breakfast (Lower Level Conference Center)
10:30 - 10:45 am Welcome
10:45 - 11:30 am
Plenary Presentation by Bernie Mayer
Lower Level Conference Center
Staying With Conflict: The Challenge of Mediating in the Face of Enduring Disputes
We think of conflict as a linear process requiring effective resolution. But our most important conflicts do not end--they endure in one form or another, sometimes for many years. This presents the ADR practitioner with a vital challenge. How can we help disputants deal with their immediate concerns but also prepare them for the long-term challenges that they face? Mediation is usually structured as a short term intervention intended to arrive at decisive agreements. But the conflicts that bring people to mediation are often enduring in nature. It’s not just that solutions are difficult to come by, but by the very nature of the disputes, comprehensive agreements are often hard to even imagine.
Based on the approach presented in his recent book, Staying With Conflict: A Strategic Approach to Ongoing Disputes, Bernie will discuss the key challenges mediators and other conflict interveners face in helping people engage in enduring disputes in a constructive way. He will challenge us to consider how we can fulfill our obligations to deal with immediate disputes but also help guide parties to a more constructive approach to the long term conflicts in which they are embroiled.
11:45 am - 1:00 pm Symposium Series 1
Court ADR Roster Management: More Like a Stroll Through the Park or Herding Cats through a Minefield?
Gates Room, 5th Floor
Every day, court ADR program managers across the country make dozens of decisions in dozens of ways when it comes to managing their rosters of mediators. Establishing qualifications; recruiting and selecting neutrals; ensuring quality processes; providing access to services in urban, suburban, and rural locations; assigning and scheduling cases; and handling complaints are just a few of the areas roster managers are called upon to address. Each court and program is unique, but the set of questions that must be addressed to manage them is not. This session brings together several experienced roster managers to discuss their approaches and have a lively discussion with program participants about options, pros and cons, and persistent puzzles that must be solved.
Howard Herman, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Julie Linkins, Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO)
Sharon Press, Hamline University School of Law
Cynthia Savage, Conflict Resolution Consultant, Golden, CO
Square Pegs and Round Holes: ADR and the Rule of Law
Training Room, 7th Floor
While ADR may be an alternative to the Rule of Law, the two are often interconnected in ways that are uncomfortable and challenging for both processes – and yet are essential to the legitimacy of both ADR and the Rule of Law. In this panel, we will explore this sometimes difficult relationship in the context of arbitration, mediation, and other ADR processes. Topics will include whether arbitrators should or must follow the law, whether mediators should draft settlement agreements, whether ADR processes – even negotiation -- are really as confidential as they are held out to be, as well as other topics raised by members of the audience.
Charles Moxley, Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer LLP
Richard Reuben, University of Missouri School of Law
Eric Tuchmann, American Arbitration Association
Zena Zumeta, Mediation Training & Consultation Institute
1:00 - 2:15 Lunch and Optional Working Group Meetings
7th Floor
Pick up a Box lunch and have your choice of lunch locales:
- Casual networking Lunch in the Vida Ellison Gallery
- Optional Working Group Meetings
Are you interested in being part of an effort to help courts support the quality of their mediation programs? How about an effort to help connect courts with researchers interested in studying court-connected ADR programs? If either sounds intriguing, grab your lunch and come join in one of the optional discussions of these Court ADR Committee projects.
Quality of Court Mediation Programs: 7th Floor Training Room
Connecting Courts and Researchers: Library Commission Room
2:15 - 3:30 pm Symposium Series 2
Court-Connected Mediation: Staff and Volunteer Models
Training Room, 7th Floor
A recent survey of lawyers' views of staff and volunteer mediators in general civil cases in federal court serves as the jumping off point for a discussion of these two models for providing court-connected mediation services. After briefly discussing the findings, we will draw on the panel members’ experience to explore the characteristics and structure of staff and volunteer mediation programs that can contribute to the provision of quality court-connected mediation services. What effects do the mediators' procedural knowledge and skillfulness, their perceived neutrality, and their professionalism and commitment have? What is the impact of the mediators' closeness to the court and to the trial judge? What role does the amount of time allocated to sessions, the timing of mediation, and the mediators' availability outside of sessions play? What are the implications of the models for quality assurance and resource issues? Can important aspects of staff mediation be incorporated in volunteer mediation programs? Can a mediation program utilize both staff and volunteer mediators to enhance service delivery? How does the choice of mediator model affect the public's view of the court? These and other questions regarding court-connected mediation will be explored by the panel and audience.
Heather Anderson, Judicial Council of California - Administrative Office of the Courts
Howard Herman, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nancy Rogers, College of Law, The Ohio State University
Roselle Wissler, Arizona State Univ. O'Connor College of Law
Promoting Procedural Justice through Dispute Resolution Systems Design: Lessons Learned from Research and Practice
Gates Room, 5th Floor
Procedural justice in regards to alternative dispute resolution processes has typically been associated with subjective participant preferences. Critical questions for dispute resolution system designers and administrators include: Does stakeholder participation and preferences in systems design and oversight promote procedural justice or merely produce high levels of “customer satisfaction”? If so, how can participant preferences be realized in meaningful ways? This session will explore 'lessons learned' in promoting procedural justice through dispute resolution system design, administration and evaluation. The panelists conduct research and practice in diverse settings: workplace, court systems, and special education. We will analyze systems design in different contexts, discuss their relationship to theories of procedural justice, examine data on system performance, and share lessons learned. After attending this session participants will have an enhanced understanding of the relationship amongst stakeholder participation, systems design and procedural justice.
Timothy Hedeen, Conflict Management Program, Kennesaw State University
Philip Moses, CADRE, the National Center on Dispute Resolution in Special Education
Donna Shestowsky, University of California, Davis School of Law
3:45 - 5:00 pm Symposium Series 3
Conflict and Reconciliation - Court Mediation in Cases under the Children Act (The Trondheim model)
Training Room, 7th Floor
In Norway we have chosen to use judges as mediators in cases that stand before the court. In this session we will describe how we are using a judge and a psychologist as co-mediators in family cases. We will describe how the mediators try to get the parents to participate actively during the whole mediation process. We think the parents are the experts of their own children, and that the mediator’s task is to facilitate the process in a way that let the parents take responsibility for their children. The mediators have focus on recognition and empowerment. After attending this session participants will have learned how: (1) to use several joint-session combined with temporary agreement to explore several alternatives for the parents; (2) to use psychologists during a mediation process; and (3) the psychologists can work with the parents between the joint-sessions. We will show a film that describes parts of the process.
Rune Lium, Sør-Trøndelag tingrett
Øyvind Smukkestad, Agder Lagmannsrett
Responding to the Crisis in Our Courts - How Can ADR Help?
Gates Room, 5th Floor
Courts are in crisis; caseloads are rising, budgets are being cut, and the number of self represented litigants are steadily increasing. These twenty-first century challenges have put many courts on the defensive, leading in some instances to cutting ADR services as non essential to court functions. Is ADR about to become a thing of the past, or does ADR have a role in helping the courts respond to these modern challenges? The yearly ABA ADR Conference presents a unique opportunity to spot the trends and strategize being proactive. This workshop is designed for individuals to share the challenges to ADR in their jurisdictions and to learn about the challenges around the country. Along with better understanding the problems facing ADR, this workshop will provide the opportunity to share ideas, thoughts, and strategies aimed at revitalizing ADR in the courts. This will be a facilitated discussion based on the premise that we as mediators are the only ones who can realistically map a future where ADR plays a role in solving our courts problems. Please bring your experiences, observations, thoughts and ideas to help map the future of court based ADR.
Laura Bassein, Statewide Coordinator, New Mexico Children’s Court Mediation Program
David Levin, Director Court Alternatives Program Second Judicial District Court
Celia Ludi, Director Court Constituent Services - First Judicial District Court
Robert Rambo, Appellate Mediator, New Mexico Court of Appeals
5:30 - 7:00 pm Reception
Vida Ellison Gallery, 7th Floor
