January 23, 2012

RSI Research Internship Available - RSI is currently accepting applications for its Summer 2012 Research Internship position. This position offers the opportunity for extensive exposure to the rapidly developing ADR field. Duties include gathering resources on court ADR programs throughout the country and on ADR in general, categorizing and reviewing them for content, and writing brief abstracts. The Research Intern will also help maintain Resource Center files and assist the Resource Center Director in other duties. Applications are due February 13.

January 20, 2012

Iowa Supreme Court Adopts Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators - Effective January 1, the Iowa Supreme Court repealed its Rules Governing Standards of Practice for Lawyer Mediators in Family Disputes and replaced them with the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. The move was prompted by a recommendation that the Supreme Court received from the Iowa State Bar Association in December 2010. The recommendation was based on a report by a study group that reviewed the existing rules and identified multiple problems with them. They determined that some provisions were "impossible to fulfill" and other weren't in keeping with typical mediation practice. For example, the rules required mediators to "assure ... full financial and factual disclosure," which is beyond the scope of the mediator's role. The group recommended the adoption of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators because they are supported by national and local ADR organizations, and have been adopted by court systems throughout the country. The Model Standards were developed by the American Bar Association (ABA), American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) in 1994; they were amended in 2005 by the AAA, ABA and Association for Conflict Resolution, the successor organization to SPIDR.

January 20, 2012

Florida Supreme Court Officially Ends Statewide Foreclosure Mediation Program - The Florida Supreme Court issued an order in December that officially ended its statewide mandated foreclosure mediation program. Cases that had been referred to mediation prior to the order may finish the mediation process, but no new cases may be referred to the program. However, the order does give circuit courts the option to adopt new foreclosure case management processes that include the referral of cases to mediation on a case-by-case basis. The order was based on a report by a workgroup appointed to assess the program, which recommended its termination. Read more and discuss this issue on RSI's Just Court ADR, where Heather Scheiwe Kulp writes about the lessons to be learned from Florida's program.

January 20, 2012

CPR Institute Launches Patent Mediation Task Force - The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute) formed a Patent Mediation Task Force in December to investigate ways to improve the use of alternative dispute resolution for patent disputes. The committee, made up of in-house and external counsel, mediators, judges and representatives from ADR organizations, is tasked with developing an "Effective Practices Protocol" for promoting the mediation of patent disputes.

December 16, 2011

ADR Champion Leaves Lasting Legacy - Court ADR lost a champion this week when Judge Harris H. Agnew, RSI's long-time Executive Committee Chair, passed away after a long struggle to regain his health. Read RSI Executive Director Susan M. Yates' blog post commemorating Judge Agnew's life and the lessons we can all learn from him.

December 5, 2011

Group Seeking Comments for Draft Child Protection Mediation Guidelines - A group comprised of leading dispute resolution organizations in the US recently released draft guidelines for child protection mediation. The guidelines were written by the Child Welfare Collaborative Decision Making Network, which is comprised of the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University School of Law, and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The guidelines review best practices for child protection mediation and lay out guiding principles, strategies for program design and implementation, and suggestions for monitoring and evaluation. The group is seeking comments on the guidelines through January 24, 2012.

Read more about the guidelines and discuss them on RSI's blog, Just Court ADR.

December 5, 2011

Florida Supreme Court Amends Civil Mediation Attendance Rule, Rejects Collaborative Process Family Rule - In two November rulings, the Florida Supreme Court amended its civil mediation attendance rule to clarify the role of party representatives in mediation, and declined to adopt a collaborative process family rule. The civil mediation rule requires a party or a "party representative with full authority to settle," the party's attorney, and, if applicable, a representative of the party's insurance carrier to attend mediation. The amended rule defines the party representative as the person who is the final decision maker on all the issues being mediated and who has the legal capacity to agree to a binding settlement. Parties are now required to file with the court and serve each other with a written notice that identifies the party and insurance representatives and certifies that they have settlement authority.

In its decision not to adopt the collaborative process family rule, the Court reasoned that certain necessary foundations for the use of the process, such as the training and certification of attorneys to practice collaborative law, do not yet exist in the state.