US Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger (1969-1986) of the United States Supreme Court clearly saw the need for an alternative to the court system that was not as Costly, Painful, Destructive and Inefficient. Oklahoma Law The Oklahoma Legislature clearly saw the same when they created the Oklahoma Dispute Resolution Act in 1983. They mirrored…
Mediation Week 2017 Presentation – No Audio
By: Dr. Justin Wood, Th.d, CJME A mediator’s ultimate goal is to assist the parties in reaching an agreement to settle their dispute. To reach this goal, the mediator may take on several roles throughout the ADR process. Some examples of roles a mediator might play include: Convener: Assist in contacting the various parties to…
By: Dr. Justin Wood, Th.d, CJME Yes, mediation and arbitration are different. While they are both forms of alternative dispute resolution and share the same goal of resolving your case outside of the litigation process, there is one very significant difference. A mediator does not have the authority to make a decision and rarely will…
By: Dr. Justin Wood, Th.d, CJME Alternative dispute resolution techniques may be used at various stages of a matter and even before anything makes its way to the court docket. You do not have to wait for a matter to be filed in court to seek alternative dispute resolution techniques. Settlement is traditionally discussed at…
By: Dr. Justin Wood, Th.d, CJME Yes, mediation and arbitration can be combined. There are some benefits, but it can be tricky and may not always be advisable. A hybrid mediation-arbitration approach called “med-arb” combines the benefits of both techniques. Conflicting parties first attempt to collaborate on an agreement with the help of a mediator….
By Michelle Profit “The “Great Transfer”, over 30 trillion dollars in US wealth, is supposed to pass from baby boomers to their heirs in the coming decades, according to a study by the consulting firm Accenture. How contentious this transfer is, will be influenced by the ability of attorneys to draft wills that avoid litigation and…
By Jennifer Wolf “Many parents are vaguely familiar with mediation as a way of resolving child custody cases but aren’t sure what it is or how to initiate it. In short, mediation is a process of resolving legal disputes in which a neutral third party — a professional mediator — helps parents discuss issues and reach an…
By Ian Szlazak, Resolution House “There are many definitions of the mediation process. Perhaps one of the most accurate, certainly the simplest, is that it is “assisted negotiations”. Recognizing that this definition does not provide new participants with much guidance on what to expect and how to prepare for mediation, please consider the following guiding principles,…
by Matthew Rushton “Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has a critical role to play for in-house counsel seeking to do more with less, but it remains something of a novelty as compared to the centuries-long tradition of courtroom litigation. While there were many international arbitrations in the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, they tended…
