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Med-Arb: Benefits, Risks and Safeguards – By Laura A. Athens

Med-Arb: Benefits, Risks and Safeguardsby Laura Athens Introduction Med-Arb combines mediation and arbitration into a single, seamless alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process that blends collaboration and flexibility with finality. When efficiency is the goal,...

Don’t Mislead Mediation Participants: What ABA Formal Opinion 518 Teaches Attorney-Mediators

. By Robert E. L. Wright,Mediator & Arbitrator The Peace Talks, PLC Introduction: Why Opinion 518 Matters Now Mediators routinely operate at the intersection of law, psychology, and negotiation. In court-connected mediation—particularly...

Due Process as a Component of Just Cause in Labor Arbitration

By Lee Hornberger Introduction This article will discuss how arbitrators, treatises, and courts have reviewed employer use of due process before imposing discipline on an employee under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The consensus is that employers should...

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Laura A. Athens

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By Lee Hornberger This article discusses Michigan AFSCME Council 25 v Wayne Co, unpublished opinion of Court of Appeals (COA), issued April 21, 2022, Docket Nos 356320 and 356322, lv app pdg, in light of Steelworkers Trilogy [Steelworkers v Warrior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

Co-mediation: “Shall we dance?”

By Earlene R. Baggett-Hayesand Joyce A. G. Mitchell Co-mediation is a conflict resolution approach that has many similarities to the tango. The tango is a ballroom and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the border between Uruguay and Argentina. While the...

“The Next Level for ADR”

By Antoinette Raheem Many of us cannot count the number of times we have looked at the day’s news, been saddened, discouraged and sometimes overwhelmed by it, and felt helpless to do anything about what we witnessed. Our feeling of helplessness no doubt arose from...

Encourage early-stage mediation to build your practice and help families

By Lisa Taylor For those attorneys who thrive only when they are enmeshed in the combat of litigation, this article is not for you. Although I have been an attorney for over 30 years, I became a full-time mediator 14 years ago to focus on settlement instead of...

FROM THE FIELD: Adding Techniques to Your Mediator Toolbox “What is the Value of Closure?”

By Sheldon J. Stark – Mediator and Arbitrator This is the first in a series of “From the Field” columns describing mediator techniques you might find useful in your own practice. I call this issue’s technique “The Value of Closure.” I learned it from...