Just Court ADR » Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org The blog of Resolution Systems Institute Tue, 07 May 2013 13:07:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 How Court ADR is Faring Amidst Judicial Budget Cuts: A Snapshot http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/program-management/how-court-adr-is-faring-amidst-judicial-budget-cuts-a-snapshot/ http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/program-management/how-court-adr-is-faring-amidst-judicial-budget-cuts-a-snapshot/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:00:43 +0000 Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org/?p=748 RSI was recently asked to participate in an American Bar Association meeting about support for the courts during the recent economic downturn. In the past few years, court systems around the country have had their budgets cut, to the point where some are closing courthouses altogether. RSI Executive Director Susan Yates commented on the effect these cuts have had on support for court ADR programs. To prepare for the meeting, we did some research and reached out to ADR administrators to find out what’s happening in their programs. This handout discusses what we found.

Is your ADR program facing similar funding challenges? If so, what impact has it had on your services?

]]> http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/program-management/how-court-adr-is-faring-amidst-judicial-budget-cuts-a-snapshot/feed/ 1 Nominate Just Court ADR for the ABA Blawg 100 http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/nominate-just-court-adr-for-the-aba-blawg-100/ http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/nominate-just-court-adr-for-the-aba-blawg-100/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:45:25 +0000 Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org/?p=744 The American Bar Association is accepting nominations for its annual “Blawg 100” list, recognizing the top 100 legal blogs each year. Please take a moment to nominate Just Court ADR for this select group. The past few lists haven’t included any blogs dedicated to ADR, but we hope to change that this year. With your help, we can. Nominations are due by September 7. Thank you for your support.

RSI’s Top ADR Blawgs

We encourage the ABA to add ADR as a category on its Blawg 100 list. If it did, which blogs would be featured? Besides Just Court ADR, our vote goes to these three staff favorites:

  • Indisputably (aka, ADR Prof Blog): Written by eight ADR law professors, this blog delves into the latest research, case law and other news related to ADR. The authors also provide refreshing takes on the lighter side of conflict resolution, as well as stories of their personal experiences with conflict resolution in the classroom and in life.
  • Disputing: Staff members at the Karl Bayer Dispute Resolution firm in Austin, Texas, summarize ADR case law from around the country, with a specific focus on arbitration. The blog also categorizes news and mediation content under separate tabs, so a reader can easily find the information relevant to the reader’s professional interests.
  • PGP Mediation Blog: Phyllis Pollack shares her experiences as a mediator and offers tips on preparing for and conducting mediations. She also discusses case law and news, often drawing unique connections between conflict resolution and current events or new research.

Are there any blogs that we’re missing? Let us know in the comments!

]]> http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/nominate-just-court-adr-for-the-aba-blawg-100/feed/ 0 New Report Shows US Federal Courts Embrace ADR http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/research/new-report-shows-us-federal-courts-embrace-adr-2/ http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/research/new-report-shows-us-federal-courts-embrace-adr-2/#comments Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:57:48 +0000 Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org/?p=707 The US Courts’ news service posted last week about a preliminary report by Donna Stienstra at the Federal Judicial Center that shows the extent to which federal courts use ADR. Thirty years after a handful of courts first began experimenting with ADR, every federal district court now authorizes some form of ADR, and a third of courts authorize multiple ADR processes. During the year ending June 30, 2011, more than 28,000 cases were referred to ADR in 49 district courts (out of 94 total district courts; statistics weren’t available for the remaining courts).

Even with the limited data, it’s clear that mediation is the most popular process used by the courts. Sixty-three of the 94 district courts authorize its use, and nearly 18,000 (63%) of the reported referrals were made to mediation. Beyond mediation and arbitration, other authorized ADR processes include settlement conference, early neutral evaluation, summary jury trial and case evaluation. This graph shows a breakdown of all the referrals made (the Northern District of California’s Multi-Option ADR program gets its own line because they do not break down their referrals by ADR process type):

In addition to these statistics and descriptions of program characteristics, the report highlights a trend in recent years toward designing ADR programs to meet the needs of pro se litigants. A 2010 survey identified 21 district courts that have established such programs, but little is known about how the programs are administered or who they are serving.

It should be noted that the information in the report was gathered from local rules and orders, court websites, and other existing documents. It has not been reviewed by the courts, and some details are missing. The news service’s article suggests that more research will be forthcoming, answering questions about how many cases are disposed of by ADR and what effect ADR has on court workloads. In the report, Ms. Stienstra talks of a larger ADR database that the FJC is working on and plans to post on its website. These are sure to be valuable and insightful resources on how federal courts use ADR. I’m looking forward to them.

What are your thoughts on the federal courts’ embrace of ADR? The trend toward offering programs for pro se litigants? Please share!

]]> http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/research/new-report-shows-us-federal-courts-embrace-adr-2/feed/ 3 How Many Mediators Does It Take… http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/how-many-mediators-does-it-take/ http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/how-many-mediators-does-it-take/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 15:00:13 +0000 Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org/?p=666 As the saying goes, if you’re too busy to laugh, you’re too busy. So here’s a bit of Friday fun from guest blogger Jim Alfini, professor at South Texas College of Law and member of RSI’s Executive Committee. Jim has been sharing his ADR jokes with us for years, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. If you have any jokes to add to the list, please share!

Q: How many transformative mediators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Transformative mediators don’t change light bulbs; they empower them to change themselves.

Q: How many facilitative mediators does it take to hang a picture?
A: Facilitative mediators don’t hang pictures; they re-frame them.

Neutrals Go to Heaven
St. Peter was guarding the pearly gates of Heaven one day and he had to run an errand. He sighted St. Theresa off in the distance and called her over to ask if she would take over while he was gone. She said, “What do I have to do?” He replied, “Here’s the Great Book. Make sure that the person is in the Great Book and that the time is right, and then you can let them in.” She said, “Fine.”

St. Peter went off and she took over. Pretty soon, a mediator and an arbitrator showed up. They were both one week early. St. Theresa said, “I’ll tell you what. You can go back to earth and be anything you ever wanted to be for one week, and then come back and we’ll let you in.” The mediator said, “I’ve always wanted to be an eagle.” The arbitrator said, “I want to be a stud.” St. Theresa agreed and they returned to earth.

St. Peter returned. He asked St. Theresa, “How did it go?” She explained what happened. St. Peter said, “That’s great. Where are they now?”

“The mediator is a golden eagle, soaring over the Grand Canyon. And the arbitrator is a stud in a snow tire in North Dakota.”

]]> http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/fun/how-many-mediators-does-it-take/feed/ 4 Shape the Future of CourtADR.org http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/research/shape-the-future-of-courtadr-org/ http://blog.aboutrsi.org/2012/research/shape-the-future-of-courtadr-org/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:57:29 +0000 Jessica Glowinski http://blog.aboutrsi.org/?p=614 At RSI, we’ve been working on a project to redesign CourtADR.org. The site is four years old and its underlying structure needs to be updated. While we’re at it, we thought it would be a great opportunity to refresh the site design and make it even easier for visitors to find the information they need.

However, we can’t make a site work better for its audience without talking to members of that audience. So, I’m asking: what features would you like to see on the new CourtADR.org? What types of resources, covering which topics?

One new section of the site will be a collection of “quick reference guides.” The guides will list the top “must-read” resources for certain topics related to court ADR. These topics might include:

  • Mediator ethics
  • Mediator certification
  • Mediation advocacy
  • Working with pro-se parties in mediation
  • Confidentiality in mediation

We’re also planning to create guides on specific case types, like small claims or child custody, and updated versions of our “Special Topics” pages for:

What do you think of our list so far? Are there any other topics you’d like to see us cover? Let us know in the comments section below, or you can email me directly at jglowinski[at]aboutrsi[dot]org.

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