RSI got great coverage of our new section of CourtADR.org, Court ADR Across the US. Many thanks to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin for getting the word out about this new resource.
Author Archive
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Covers National Compendium
Susan M. Yates, December 22nd, 2010RSI Launches State-by-State Guide to Court ADR
Susan M. Yates, December 13th, 2010The RSI team is excited to announce the launch of Court ADR Across the US, a comprehensive national guide to court alternative dispute resolution, on CourtADR.org, RSI’s national court ADR resource center. The searchable guide features court rules, statutes, studies and other resources for all 50 states and Washington, DC, organized in an easy-to-access format.
Important facts about this new service:
1. It provides a state-by-state view of state and federal court ADR.
2. It is searchable across states.
3. It is comprehensive.
Court ADR Across the US is a unique free service, as is the host site CourtADR.org. It is the only resource dedicated to collecting and making available as much information about court ADR as is available. (more…)
Courts as Ecosystems
Susan M. Yates, November 17th, 2010Earlier this week at a gathering in Baltimore where administrators, program evaluators and researchers provided input on Maryland’s plan for a comprehensive study of court ADR in the state, Heather Anderson commented that the court system resembles an ecosystem. (Heather is a brilliant staffer for the Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts, and an incredibly dedicated, knowledgeable worker in the court ADR field.)
This idea of the court system as an ecosystem makes good sense. A quick definition of ecosystems from Encarta lends itself to courts: “a localized group of interdependent organisms together with the environment that they inhabit and depend on.” Heather also pointed out that individual courts can be seen as microecosystems. Ever-trusty Wikipedia says microecosystems “can exist in locations which are precisely defined by critical environmental factors within small or tiny spaces.”
Why is this metaphor so meaningful? Because it reminds those of us who work to develop and improve court ADR systems that nothing works in isolation. There is interdependence of entities within the courts – lawyers, judges, neutrals, administrators – and external environmental factors – politics, economy, society – that have a significant impact on how court ADR programs are established and refined. All of these factors need to be taken into consideration when working with courts to develop or improve their ADR programs.
Hopes Becoming Reality: Law School Training Is Making Better ADR Advocates
Susan M. Yates, October 20th, 2010How many of us in the mediation field have said that educating people about alternative approaches to dispute resolution is essential to changing the way that conflicts are addressed? For those of us who work in court ADR, the continuing development of law school ADR coursework in particular is a cause for optimism that the practice of law increasingly will encompass skilled use of ADR.
In a recent pro bono case I mediated, I had an experience that affirmed this belief. The defendants were represented by a skilled, young volunteer lawyer who was an able advocate for his client in mediation. He asked good questions of the other side, was dogged but gracious in pursuing his clients’ interests, and took a constructive, problem-solving approach. After the mediation, he asked opposing counsel and me about how this case relates to others of this type, as this had been his first one in this area. He said that he had taken a mediation course in law school and had mediated actual court cases through the clinic, so he felt prepared for the process, but wanted to learn more about this particular application.
Isn’t this what we have been hoping would happen? Law school mediation training is preparing strong, capable advocates in mediation.
