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The Opening Statement in a Labor Arbitration – by Lee Hornberger

Introduction The opening statement is crucial in labor arbitration cases. The opening statement gives advocates theopportunity to successfully put forth their client’s case in the most favorable light to the arbitrator at thevery beginning of the arbitration...

ABA Ethics Opinion 518 and Its Effects On Mediators, Mediation and Mediator Proposals

ABA Ethics Opinion 518 and Its E4ects On Mediators,Mediation, and Mediator Proposals By: Paul F. Monicatti I. Introduction Last fall the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 518...

Bifurcated Hearings in Arbitration: Strategic Considerations and Procedural Guidance

Bifurcated Hearings in Arbitration: Strategic Considerations and Procedural Guidance By Lisa W. Timmons, Esq. Among the procedural tools available to arbitrators and parties, bifurcation remains one of the most useful. The decision to divide an arbitration into...

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Laura A. Athens

Trauma-informed Care in Mediation – Part 1

Laura A. Athens - Trauma-informed Care in Mediation – Part 1[1] by Laura A. Athens The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy, and the power to transform and resurrect. Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. Most of us have faced trauma at some point in our...

Dispositive Motions in Arbitration: Strategies and Best Practices

Harshitha Ram Dispositive motions in Arbitration A dispositive motion in litigation seeks to dispose of or resolve a claim or issue in the case without going to a full hearing. The moving party argues there are no disputed issues of material fact, and they are...

A Litigator’s Guide to Mediation Advocacy: Reflections on Effectively Achieving Client Goals at the Mediation Table – Part 2

By Sheldon J. Stark – Mediator and Arbitrator Part II This is the second part of a two-part article. Part I focused on the fundamental differences between the mediation process and other stages in the litigation process necessitating a different approach...

A Litigator’s Guide to Mediation Advocacy: Reflections on Effectively Achieving Client Goals at the Mediation Table – Part 1

By Sheldon J. Stark – Mediator and Arbitrator Part 1 This is the first of a two-part article describing the differences between effective mediation advocacy and more traditional zealous advocacy characteristic of other stages in the litigation process. Part II...

Michigan AFSCME Council 25 v Wayne Co: A saga of Steelworkers Trilogy, Michigan Family, and Gavin

By Lee Hornberger This article discusses Michigan AFSCME Council 25 v Wayne Co, unpublished opinion of Court of Appeals (COA), issued April 21, 2022, Docket Nos 356320 and 356322, lv app pdg, in light of Steelworkers Trilogy [Steelworkers v Warrior Gulf Navigation Co,...

Reflections on Civility and Ethics

By Lee Hornberger This article discusses some civility and ethical issues we experience in our professional practices. While accepting the Republican presidential nomination on July 16, 1964, Senator Barry Goldwater said: “I would remind you that extremism in the...

In Lichon, The Michigan Supreme Court Changed the Test for the Scope or Arbitration

By William D. Gilbride Jr. Published: ADR Spotlight December 2022 An age-old inquiry in ADR is under what circumstances must a party’s legal claims be dismissed from court and heard and decided in binding, unappealable arbitration. Over the years, several ground...

10 Negotiation Tips to Prompt Others to Assist You in Satisfying Client Goals

Paul F. Monicatti - Professors James J. White and Harry T. Edwards, in their 1977 seminal text The Lawyer as a Negotiator, called it the “The Art of Negotiation”. Howard Raiffa titled his 1982 book The Art and Science of Negotiation. And in 2008, Barry Goldman...

An Emerging Trend to Replace Direct Testimony with Written Narrative Witness Statements in Commercial Arbitration

Jerome F. Rock - A foundational principle of Arbitration is that it based on an agreement between the parties to submit their dispute for a binding decision by a neutral third party. The Federal Arbitration Act and companion state laws provide basic requirements...