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With Thanks to My Family, My Mentors and America, Recognizing our Professional Obligation to Keep Open the Gates of Justice

Just Court ADR, May 21st, 2025

On April 25, 2025, RSI presented its Harris H. Agnew Service to Community Award to Hon. Morton Denlow (Ret.). Many in attendance commented on how moving they found Judge Denlow’s acceptance speech, and he has been gracious enough to allow us to share it with you today. The speech has been edited for length. 

Thank you for this award. It means a great deal to me because Judge Harris Agnew was an innovative leader on the bench and at RSI in promoting access to justice through the use of ADR in our courts. This award gives me the opportunity to thank my family, the people who made the award possible, and those who mentored me and were role models to me throughout my career as a lawyer, judge and mediator. It also gives me an opportunity to tell you about my personal and professional journey and to emphasize the important role our profession and RSI play in providing equal access to justice in our courts.

A Little About How I Got Here

I want to thank America for welcoming my parents, a younger brother and me to this country in 1949. I am an immigrant. My parents were Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors. My mother was 14 and my father was 26 when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. They miraculously managed to survive for six years through World War II. They both lost their parents and most of their siblings and other family members during the war.

My parents met in a displaced persons camp outside of Munich in 1946, where they married and had their first two boys, including me. Our family immigrated to St. Louis, sponsored by an aunt who had immigrated with her family to St. Louis years before the war.

My parents became naturalized citizens in the federal courthouse in St. Louis in 1955. My favorite duty as a Magistrate Judge was to welcome new citizens and conduct Naturalization ceremonies where I could share my own experience as an immigrant.

My parents raised six kids: five sons and one daughter. I was the oldest. They were tailors and eventually opened their own tailor shop. My mother took over and ran the tailor shop after my Dad passed away when I was 23 years old and my youngest brother was only 4.

Fortunately for my family back then, America welcomed immigrants fleeing the ravages of war and provided my family with freedom, liberty and opportunity. The memory of my parents inspires me every day in both my personal and professional life.

I was fortunate to attend a Jewish day school through ninth grade when I had my first court appearance. Our ninth-grade class took a field trip to Washington, D.C., where we entered the Supreme Court building with the inscription “Equal Justice Under Law.” To our great surprise, we were ushered into the chambers of Chief Justice Earl Warren, where he spoke to us and answered questions about the court and his work. I looked around, and I thought: This might be a wonderful job. I later wrote a term paper about him and set my sights on going into law.

I attended a wonderful public high school and earned a scholarship to Washington University. I met my wife, Reva, during freshman orientation. I was walking around campus with a friend when we saw Reva walking ahead of us with her friend. I used my best pickup line: “Hey, girls.” It worked. We were married after our junior year. Fifty-six years later, we are still going strong.

My Career as a Lawyer

We moved to Chicago, where Reva worked as a teacher to put me through law school at Northwestern. I spent 24 years at several law firms in Chicago doing complex commercial and class action litigation.

During that time, I was privileged to have a number of great mentors and role models who were not only outstanding lawyers, but who also taught me the importance of pro bono work and public service. Bob Gettleman hired me and mentored me at my first job. He continued to mentor me after I joined the court. He now serves as a Senior District Court Judge here in Chicago. As a young lawyer I also worked closely for several years with the late Abner Mikva, who left private practice to serve as a congressman, D.C. Circuit Judge and counsel to President Clinton.

I was also privileged to be a young partner to the late Lowell Sachnoff, the top class action lawyer in Chicago for many years, who was still doing pro bono work representing Guantanamo prisoners into his late 80s. Lowell mentored a whole group of young lawyers who still meet monthly as Lowell’s “ducklings.”

These and other fine lawyers mentored me and led by example. At the same time as they managed a busy law practice they gave back to the community in a variety of pro bono activities, by taking cases, stepping up to community leadership roles and leaving private practice to perform public service.

How I Became Involved in Mediation

I had my first experience with mediation in the early 1990s. Two brothers were fighting over the ownership of a beer distributorship. They were in their 70s, and we appeared before Judge Sophia Hall to set the case for trial. She looked at our clients and said to the lawyers: “Why don’t you think about going to mediation?” I responded, “What is mediation?” I had no idea. She explained the mediation process and suggested we retain Professor Stephen Goldberg at Northwestern Law School to mediate the case. Our clients agreed. He mediated and helped the brothers settle the case through a creative buyout of my client’s interest in the business by his brother. My client was pleased.

A few weeks later, I called Professor Goldberg and said: “Can we have lunch? I want to find out how you did that.” He recommended I reach out to Linda Singer and Michael Lewis in D.C. and take their multi-day course. I took the course and came back to Chicago.

A few months later I reached out to Bill Hartgering, who was the pioneer in bringing ADR to Chicago. Bill was running the JAMS/Endispute ADR office here in Chicago. Bill hired me as the part-time Director of Professional Services. Fancy title. It meant go out there, knock on law firm doors to drum up business, and build my own mediation practice. This experience helped me to be selected as a Magistrate Judge in 1996 because the court was looking for people with both federal litigation experience and settlement skills.

My Years as a Judge

I spent 17 wonderful years as a Magistrate Judge before joining JAMS in 2012. As a Magistrate Judge, I came to appreciate the importance of mediation and access to the courts. We were conducting settlement conferences in 100 to 125 cases a year. When I successfully mediated a case, I felt I experienced an important Jewish value: “Tikun Olam” — repairing the world. I felt I was repairing the world one relationship at a time.

I had wonderful colleagues who shared their wisdom with me, a fun staff and bright and eager law clerks who I tried to mentor. While I was on the bench I joined the RSI Board because of the important work they were doing in court ADR.

Two of my most proud accomplishments as a Magistrate Judge were the development of a settlement database and the establishment of the Pro Se Settlement Assistance Program. I developed the Settlement Database with the input of data from my colleagues and the assistance of RSI’s Research Director, Jennifer Shack, for use by Magistrate Judges as a resource when we conducted settlement conferences in civil rights and employment discrimination cases.

We established the pro se settlement assistance program in the District Court in 2006 when I was the Presiding Magistrate Judge and Jim Holderman was the Chief Judge. The program relied upon volunteer lawyers to represent pro se litigants for settlement conferences in employment, civil rights and prisoner cases. The program provided access to justice for the pro se plaintiffs and was a win-win for them, the young lawyers who were able to be first chair at the settlement conferences, and the court, in having these cases settled. The program is still going strong after almost 20 years.

RSI and the Agnew Award

I have been on the RSI Board for over 20 years because I believe in its mission of strengthening access to justice in our courts for those who cannot afford counsel. I was proud to be the Board Chair at the time we changed our name to RSI and established our own 501(c)(3) in order to go national. During the years, I have felt great pride in knowing that RSI’s foreclosure and eviction mediation programs have helped numerous homeowners stay in their homes; and that RSI has helped design, research and evaluate court ADR programs around the country and establish the best court ADR resources in the country.

This award means a great deal to me. The late Judge Harris Agnew led our Board from 1999 to 2011. He brought court-annexed ADR to Illinois. He was passionate about it because he saw its benefits in helping to reinforce the message that stands on the Supreme Court building in D.C.: “Equal Justice Under Law.” RSI has worked hard for the past 30 years to help make that message a reality throughout the country.

I just finished a recent autobiography by Judge David S. Tatel, entitled Vision. He is a retired D.C. Circuit Court Judge who served on the bench for almost 30 years. His message resonated with me, and I want to share it with you:

“As officers of the court, lawyers have a broader responsibility to ensure that courts work for everyone … As gatekeeper to the legal system, the profession itself has an obligation to ensure those gates are open to everyone entitled to the law’s protection.”

RSI’s mission is and has been for the past 30 years to open the gates of justice and bring access to justice through court ADR systems in Illinois and throughout the country. I am extremely proud to accept the Judge Harris Agnew Award in his memory.

Thank you.

Tools Help Courts Explain ODR to the Public

Stephen Sullivan, May 12th, 2025

RSI has completed the second phase of the ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project! We are thrilled to share that our new communication tools to help courts educate self-represented litigants (SRLs) about ODR more effectively are now available. The tools can be accessed on our OPEN Project website.

The tools include RSI’s Model Notice to Defendant of Mandatory ODR, our Model ODR Explainer Video, and desktop and mobile website prototypes that contain our ODR Home Page, our Model ODR Self-Help Guide for Defendants, and our Model Account Registration Webpages.

Our Toolkit for Making ODR Make Sense to the Public provides step-by-step instructions for adapting our models or designing each model type based on our focus group and usability testing research.

OPEN Launch Party Recording
Learn all about RSI’s newest tools for improving court communications in this recording of our OPEN Launch Party webinar.

Designing New Court Communication Models

We partnered with an inclusive designer and an accessibility evaluator to ensure the models were easy to use and understand and accessible to individuals with disabilities. We structured the models around a simple workflow that provides a clear path for parties to follow to learn about and prepare for ODR. Importantly, we also scaffolded information about ODR across the models — we designed them to gradually introduce details about how ODR works, so parties do not feel overwhelmed.

To obtain feedback on the models from individuals similar to those most likely to use them, we conducted usability tests across the U.S. with a diverse set of participants whose backgrounds resembled those of SRLs with low literacy and low digital literacy. The final models reflect this collaborative approach among RSI, our design partner, an accessibility expert and 20 real users.

Usability Testing our Models

Overall, usability test participants found RSI’s OPEN Communication Models to be visually engaging, intuitive to navigate and, importantly, easy to read and understand. We asked participants to rate each of the models for how easy they were to understand; the final versions of the models received an average 4.8/5 rating.

Below are key findings from usability testing:

  • A mobile-first design is essential
    Overwhelmingly, our usability testers shared that they primarily access the internet using their smartphones. It is critical to create materials that are not just mobile-friendly but mobile-first in their design. This finding was further supported by participants’ enthusiasm for mobile-first features, such as the inclusion of a QR code on the Notice to simplify navigation to the website.
  • Testers’ confidence grew
    We found that as participants successfully navigated each model, their expressed confidence, understanding of ODR and sense of ease grew. Participants also demonstrated an interest in learning more about ODR, suggesting that our approach to scaffold information was effective at boosting participants’ engagement with the process.
  • Data privacy and security are top of mind
    Usability test participants responded very positively to our dedicated data privacy and confidentiality section on the model ODR Home Page. Providing concise and specific information about how ODR platforms address data privacy concerns can help alleviate users’ anxieties over these issues, even for those who are most hesitant about using the internet.
  • Simple materials enhance excitement for ODR
    Most of our usability test participants did not have any prior knowledge about ODR and were learning about it for the first time. After going through our materials, testers were not only able to accurately answer our questions about how ODR works, but also expressed their excitement for the prospect of ODR being available in their communities.

Recommendations to Courts

Feedback from our usability testers demonstrates that simple, easy-to-understand communication materials can positively impact parties’ understanding of and interest in ODR. Based on what we learned from usability testers and our work with an inclusive designer and an accessibility evaluator to design effective models, we developed a set of recommendations for courts to ensure that their communication materials can effectively be understood by SRLs. Check out our report, Designing a New Way to Communicate about ODR: Usability Testing Insights, to learn more about these recommendations and our usability test findings. 

Next Up: Support for Using Our Models

RSI is pleased to share that we have begun offering a technical assistance service to help courts and ADR organizations to enhance their communication materials about ADR programs. Contact us to learn more about the different ways we can help you communicate more effectively.

We are extremely grateful for the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation’s support for the OPEN Project and the dissemination of its findings.

Hon. Morton Denlow (Ret.) is Presented Agnew Award for Service to Community

Just Court ADR, May 5th, 2025

RSI had the privilege of awarding its 2025 Harris H. Agnew Service to Community Award to the Hon. Morton Denlow (Ret.) on April 25 at JAMS’ offices in downtown Chicago. The Hon. Geraldine Soat Brown (Ret.) presented the award.

Hon. Geraldine Soat Brown (Ret.) presented the Harris H. Agnew Service to Community Award to Hon. Morton Denlow (Ret.) on behalf of RSI.

RSI’s Harris H. Agnew Award recognizes individuals whose cumulative efforts have substantially and meaningfully enhanced court alternative dispute resolution systems in Illinois. Judge Denlow has provided visionary leadership over decades of service as an ADR practitioner, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, and attorney. He has profoundly shaped the dispute resolution field and community through work such as his groundbreaking conception of a legal settlement database and his efforts to shed light on the advantages of settlement vs. litigation.

Additionally, Judge Denlow has been a champion of RSI almost since Day 1 of our organization’s 30-year tenure. RSI has benefited greatly from his longtime dedication as an RSI Board member, including his time as Board President, when he provided pivotal support during RSI’s transition to independent nonprofit status. Judge Denlow’s strategic guidance, insightful wisdom and unwavering commitment continue to help and inspire ADR professionals far and wide, including those here at RSI.

Read more about Judge Denlow’s achievements on his RSI Board profile page, and learn more about the Harris H. Agnew Award and its recipients here.

RSI Proudly Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary

Heather Fogg, February 21st, 2025

This year marks an incredible milestone as Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) celebrates 30 years of impact! As someone who counts herself among those who have benefited from the work of RSI over the years, I am deeply grateful for the strong foundation RSI stands on today. As we reflect on three decades of service, we appreciate and consider ourselves fortunate to recall the countless lives touched, the ADR programs improved, the knowledge gained and the amazing partners who have walked beside us throughout this journey.

Our “Pearl” Anniversary: The 30th anniversary has been described as the pearl anniversary, in part because pearls have come to symbolize wisdom gained through experience, growth through change, resilience and honesty. The development of a pearl can also be a metaphor for what ADR can accomplish: Sometimes, the things that cause irritation and friction ultimately become something beautiful, such as a pearl — or a better grasp of a former adversary’s shared humanity.

My colleagues and fellow alternative dispute resolution (ADR) researchers introduced me to RSI while we worked on similarly ambitious projects for evaluating statewide efforts to implement ADR and program-specific survey evaluations of court ADR programs. I learned of the foreclosure and eviction mediation programs through our common court ADR panel presentations at national conferences. I quickly came to rely on RSI as a resource that included the most current innovations, advances and findings in the field of ADR. RSI has always been on the forefront and continues to shape the field by improving our understanding of court ADR.

From RSI’s humble beginnings as a big idea shared among colleagues in a casual conversation, we set out to impact court ADR by growing and sharing knowledge. What began as a small group of passionate individuals dedicated to court ADR has now grown into a well-established force for change, strengthening access to justice by enhancing court alternative dispute resolution systems.

A Journey Through Time: 30 Years of Progress

Over the years, RSI has experienced both challenges and triumphs, and each step along the way has renewed our commitment to court ADR. When we look back at the moments and events that have shaped us, we can’t help but feel immense pride in what we’ve accomplished:

  • Guiding Program Design: In the late 1990s, RSI helped get civil case mediation off the ground in Illinois by providing expert guidance to Illinois state courts and federal courts as they established civil case ADR programs. Over time, we worked on programs with a broader array of case types and parties, and helped programs nationally; and in 2007, informed by our own research, RSI created the Statewide Mediation Access Project to develop programs to improve access to justice through mediation for low-income disputants. As our mission statement affirms, guiding and supporting court efforts to strengthen access to justice through court ADR has been a throughline in RSI’s work ever since.
  • Studying What Works, and Creating Tools to Support It: In 2003, RSI Director of Research Jennifer Shack’s article “Mediation Can Bring Gains, But Under What Conditions?” summarized a survey of the findings of 62 studies of court-related mediation. The article posited that the ADR field must focus less on whether mediation is effective, and more on the circumstances under which it is most effective. To a large degree, RSI’s research over the years has continued to examine the article’s overarching question by evaluating the program design and impacts of court ADR in child protection, foreclosure and eviction cases, as well as more recent advancements of online dispute resolution. This research has also informed our development of tools to assist programs in conducting accessible, effective ADR. Examples include RSI’s recent studies of text-based online dispute resolution programs; our ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) study, guides and models; and our ongoing research on what leads to trust during mediation.
  • Responding to Immediate Needs: In 2013, RSI responded to the foreclosure crisis by providing courts throughout the U.S. resources and technical assistance, offering mediator training, and designing and administering foreclosure mediation programs in three Illinois counties. In 2016, we expanded our mediation services, developing and administering a child protection mediation program in Kane County, Illinois. And in 2021, responding to the pandemic-induced eviction crisis, we launched eviction mediation programs in three Illinois counties. RSI’s mediation programs have provided direct services to thousands of people over the years. But they also serve as an active knowledge base, enabling us to learn more about that question raised by Jen Shack’s 2003 article; in short, what works? 

Each of these pivotal moments in our history is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated staff, Board, donors, funding partners and supporters.

Looking Ahead: The Next 30 Years

While we celebrate our past, we’re also looking toward the future. The world continues to change, and so do the challenges we face. Through it all, our mission remains as important and relevant as ever. In the coming years, we are committed to:

Join Us in Celebrating!
We’ll be celebrating all year long! Please stay tuned here for more ways to connect and join us in celebration as we share details of programs and events to come!

  • Eliminating Barriers: We believe that strengthening access to justice by enhancing court ADR gives more people an array of options for resolving conflict in ways that feel fair and facilitate mutual understanding.
  • Innovating: We will continue to explore new projects to explore the use of technological advancements in ADR while addressing the pressing issues of reducing barriers to access to justice for everyone.
  • Expanding our Reach: As a convener, we plan to extend our impact even further by bringing together court administrators and ADR program directors to share insights, successes and challenges.

A Heartfelt Thank You

None of this would have been possible without the support of our incredible ADR community. To our Board members, donors, roster mediators, partners, funders, collaborators, staff and all of those who have stood with us over the years, thank you. Your unwavering belief in our mission has been a driving force behind every success.

As we mark our 30th anniversary, we are excited to celebrate not just what we have achieved, but also the promise of what’s yet to come. The future is bright, and we are so grateful to have you by our side as we continue this journey together.

Here’s to 30 years of impact — and to the many more years ahead!

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