The annual Spring Conference of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section draws hundreds of ADR practitioners, trainers and teachers from around the world. This year it will take place in Seattle, Washington, on April 15-18. The Section has asked that we promote it and encourage folks to attend, which I am...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a writ of mandamus directing a district court to vacate an order disqualifying an arbitrator, while the arbitration was pending. Its succinct opinion in In re Sussex (No. 14-70158, January 27, 2015) serves as a clear lesson in the limitations of judicial...
Ironically, the first issue of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution arrived a few weeks ago in hard copy by the US Postal Service. It is a very welcome addition to the very few serious legal publications that I pay close attention to. ...
James Freeman of Allen & Overy has written a concise, informative and forward-looking article in the IBA's publication Business Law International that offers a clear-eyed look at the state of arbitrated conflict resolution in the financial services industry and points to the Arbitration Guide recently published by the International Swaps...
Professionally, I am not given to bedazzlement. I am not among those who claim transformative or quasi-spiritual attributes to what (to me) really boils down to the learn-able professional skill of mediating business disputes. So when friends have reported their experiences attending the ICC International Mediation Competition with tears streaming...
Our friend Giuseppe De Palo reports that the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (“JURI”) will discuss mediation again at the February 26, 2015, ‘Civil Law & Justice Forum’ in Brussels, and the ADR Center has been asked to present a follow-up to its 2014 study, “Rebooting the Mediation Directive.” The Center has prepared a...
A while ago I was engaged to assist two partners who had worked since their college years to build up a very successful business. Now, more than 25 years later, they could barely be in the same room with each other, and wanted help in finding a way out. Just the...