Resources / Study / Innovation for Court ADR

Just Court ADR

The blog of Resolution Systems Institute

Posts Tagged ‘mediation’

Part 1 of 3: Foreclosure Mediation Best Practices

Just Court ADR, March 1st, 2012

With the proliferation of foreclosure mediation programs, legislation, and reports, states and other entities attempting to create such programs need clear, expert guidance about lessons learned during foreclosure mediation’s four-year history. Especially with additional funding from the 49 state attorney general foreclosure settlement, states have the powerful opportunity to create high quality mediation programs. This report, which will be featured in three parts on this blog, highlights wisdom collected from existing programs, failed attempts to create programs, and mediation’s long history of success in resolving court-based and other types of disputes. The first section is on how to begin a foreclosure mediation program to ensure its success.

PROGRAM BEGINNINGS

Set Goals and Define Success

The initial step of gathering everyone in a room to talk about goals is a difficult one, but is essential for the subsequent foreclosure mediation program to succeed. (more…)

Blaming ADR

Just Court ADR, February 14th, 2012

When Mayanne Downs took office as President of The Florida Bar in June 2010, she stated that under her watch, a special committee would examine the decline in the number of jury trials and its impact on the judicial system, the public and lawyers. Especially in the face of drastic cuts to the judiciary’s budget, both at a state and federal level, this exploration seems timely. Getting a snapshot of why trends occur helps courts, the bar, and litigants consciously plan for what lies ahead.

The resulting report, however, speaks ominously (more…)

Attending to Mediation Attendance

Just Court ADR, January 27th, 2012

January seems to be a popular month for birthdays among my friends, with six celebrations in three weekends.  Mostly, my husband and I have been able to attend together. But when the parties overlapped this past weekend, he went to one party and I to another. Though I called the other party to wish my friend a happy birthday, the call was no substitute for actually attending the party.

The conundrum of party attendance has me thinking about attendance in mediation. Some recent developments have revived the issue of what constitutes attendance, and who should attend. General consensus among neutrals, it seems, is that whenever possible, both parties in a dispute should attend mediation in person. (more…)

Top Ten Court ADR Developments in 2011, Trends for 2012

Just Court ADR, January 10th, 2012

The beginning of the year always prompts reflection and re-dedication to self-improvement. While we at RSI can’t promise you we’ll take our vitamins every day in the new year, we do pledge to continue bringing you expert resources about court ADR, including quality blog posts about of-the-moment ADR issues.  Let’s start 2012 with a look back at the top court ADR stories in 2011, grouped by theme. Jen Shack, Jessica Glowinski and Heather Scheiwe Kulp have also made a few predictions for the hot topics of 2012. Do you agree? Any to add?

(more…)

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