Our series, My Favorite Resource, features interviews with our court ADR friends across the country to learn about their favorite resource. In April, Resource Center Director Nicole Wilmet spoke with Doug Van Epps, Director of the Michigan Office of Dispute Resolution to learn about his favorite resource.
NW: What is one of your favorite ADR resources?
DVE: Aside from the RSI website, which is my “go to” point of departure for most research questions, I frequently rely on the 3-volume set, “Mediation: Law, Policy & Practice,” by Cole, McEwen, Rogers, Coen, and Thompson, updated annually, and published by Thomson Reuters.
NW: Why do you value this particular resource?
DVE: This compendium of mediation research, practice, and state statutes has frequently been helpful in researching a gamut of mediation questions, e.g., the operation of confidentiality and privilege across the states, identifying the array of mandatory arbitration practices in the country, resources for specific dispute types, and a state-by-state encyclopedia of statutes, to name a few examples.
NW: How did you first learn about this resource?
DVE: A marketing brochure.
NW: For those unfamiliar with this resource, what is one part of this resource that you wouldn’t want someone to miss?
DVE: Acknowledging that this resource is probably most helpful for persons frequently researching policy questions, practices, procedures, and statutes across states, I’ve found it helpful just to periodically review my own state’s compendium of statutes so that I’m up to speed on how dispute resolution is evolving in branches of government beyond the judiciary.
If you have a favorite resource you would like to share in an upcoming edition of our newsletter, please reach out to our Resource Center Director and Court ADR Connection Editor, Nicole Wilmet at nwilmet@aboutrsi.org!
HSK: I frequently turn to Designing Systems and Processes for Managing Disputes, a “textbook” by Nancy H. Rogers, Robert C. Bordone, Frank E. A. Sander, and Craig A. McEwen. It’s much more than a textbook, really, as it has a comprehensive method for planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating dispute systems. So, I’ve found the resource translates easily between my multiple “hats,” whether I’m wearing my trainer hat, academic/professor hat, designer hat, or evaluator hat.