Law Commons^™

Newsroom: Logan On Volkswagen Emissions, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Hosting Mediations As A Representative Of The System Of Civil Justice, Wayne Brazil

Wayne Brazil

No abstract provided.

The Center Of The Center For Alternative Dispute Resolution, Wayne Brazil

Wayne Brazil

Hawaii was one of the first states to establish within its judiciary a Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Center's mission is: to mediate major public policy disputes and to facilitate policy formulation dialogues, to design and help implement mediation and other ADR programs for state and local governmental agencies, to provide education about and training in mediation for the public and for employees of state and local government, and to oversee the extensive network of community mediation centers that provide grass-roots mediation services throughout the Islands. In November of 2005 the Center celebrated its 20th anniversary by sponsoring various …

Pedr Is Important For Culture Change In Courts, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post highlights a report by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, Change the System, Change the Culture: Top 10 Cultural Shifts Needed to Create the Courts of Tomorrow. One of the recommended cultural shifts is “Dig Deep, Earlier: Lawyers need to develop a deep understanding of their case early in the process.”

Dynamic Complementarity: Terri's Law And Separation Of Powers Principles In The End-Of-Life Context, O. Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

The bitter dispute over the proper treatment of Theresa Marie Schiavo - a severely brain-damaged woman, unable to communicate and with no living will or advance directive - has garnered enormous attention in the media, both national and international. What began as a heated disagreement between Ms. Schiavo's husband and parents mushroomed into a massive political conflict involving privacy advocates on one side, and right-to-life and disability activists on the other. The battle raged on the editorial pages of the world's newspapers, in the courts, and ultimately, in the legislative and executive branches of the Florida state government. After nearly …

The (Surprising) Truth About Schiavo: A Defeat For The Cause Of Autonomy, O. Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

A survey of the commentary following the conclusion of the Theresa Marie Schiavo matter leaves one with the impression that the case was a victory for the cause of autonomy and the right of self-determination in the end-of-life context. In this essay, I seek to challenge this thesis and demonstrate that, contrary to popular understanding, it is the defenders of autonomy and self-determination who should be most troubled by what transpired in the Schiavo case. In support of this claim, I will first set forth (in cursory fashion) the underlying aim of the defenders of autonomy in this context. Then, …

Evaluation Of The Ontario Mediation Program (Rule 24.1) Final Report: The First 23 Months, Robert G. Hann, Carl Baar, Lee Axon, Susan Binnie, Frederick H Zemans

Frederick H. Zemans

No abstract provided.

C-Drum News, Fall 2015

The C-DRUM News

No abstract provided.

Von Fischen Im Wasser Und Andere Mediationserzählungen [Of Fish In Water And Other Mediation Stories] (In German), Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This essay offers an international and cross-cultural perspective on mediation. It builds on the contributions to this journal issue and extends the conversation to include (1) the role of culture in mediations models and (2) the taboo topic of directive, evaluative approaches. After reviewing various taxonomies of mediation models, the author’s mediation meta model is used as a framework to analyze diverse approaches of mediation including those presented in this issue. Historical-cultural perspectives provide further layers of depth and nuance that thicken the already complex storylines of the human mediation narrative. If mediation is to succeed in attaining truly global …

What Makes Lawyers Happy? – And How Can You Help?, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post summarizes Lawrence Krieger and Kennon Sheldon’s impressive study, What Makes Lawyers Happy?: A Data-Driven Prescription to Redefine Professional Success. They write, “[T]he current data show that the psychological factors [related to subjective well-being] seen to erode during law school are the very factors most important for the well-being of lawyers. Conversely, the data reported here also indicate that the factors most emphasized in law schools – grades, honors, and potential career income, have nil to modest bearing on lawyer well-being.”

Dr Ethics Book Brings It All Together, Jonathan R. Cohen

Jonathan R. Cohen

Dispute resolution practice has changed dramatically over the past several decades. The traditional litigation model has increasingly given way to a “multi-door” vision of varied dispute resolution practices. With that functional change in how we process disputes has come a pressing need to address the varied ethical challenges of these varied practices. Dispute Resolution Ethics is a marvelous contribution toward that effort.

Tips For Lawyers Who Want To Get Good Results For Clients And Make Money, John M. Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post suggests that lawyers do the following to help clients achieve their goals: Understand your clients’ interests. Pay attention to what’s really important in your cases, not just the law or winning. Recognize the importance of emotions – especially yours. Get to know your counterpart lawyer. Make a habit of preparing to resolve matters at the earliest appropriate time. Be prepared to negotiate more than you might expect. Get help from mediators when needed. Be prepared to advocate hard and smart.

Why Mediators Should Be Regulated, Art Hinshaw

Art Hinshaw

In the United States consumers engage mediators on a caveat emptor basis. The regulatory scheme for mediators is a patchwork of mediation referral organizations which allows unscrupulous mediators to exploit consumers with little to no recourse. One egregious example is that of Gary J. Karpin, a disbarred lawyer turned divorce mediator, who used the mediation process to con forty people into giving him approximately $250,000 before taking up residence in prison. In an age when everyone from doctors to cosmetologists is subject to occupational regulation, why are mediators virtually unregulated? Mediators have long been divided on the question of regulation. …

Institutional Isomorphism And Informal Social Control: Evidence Form A Community Mediation Center, Calvin Morrill, Cindy Mckee

Calvin Morrill

Widespread satisfaction among users of community mediation, but low voluntary usage, provides a context within which institutional isomorphism between state and informal social control organizations can be empirically investigated. Data drawn from a triangulated ethnography of a single community mediation center suggest that community mediation centers come to be isomorphic with more established governmental social control agencies in order to manage resource uncertainties and assure organizational survival. These findings are relevant to an understanding of linkages between community mediation centers and the state, the struggle for autonomy from the state by mediation practitioners, institutional constraints on community mediation centers generating …

News Media As Mediators, Carol Pauli

Carol Pauli

No abstract provided.

Know Thyself As You Know Thy Enemy: Setting Goals And Keeping Focus When Mediating Ip Disputes, Michael H. King, Peter N. Witty

Akron Law Review

Therefore, while we briefly discuss the expected improvements to the mediation process following the enactment of the Uniform Mediation Act, we want to put aside the reality that mediation can work in some situations and instead focus on identifying and overcoming various impediments to a successful mediation. Specifically, we want to address two points: (1) the importance of defining realistic objectives for the process, and (2) the importance of staying focused on obtaining those objectives.

I'Ll Make Him An Offer He Can't Refuse: A Proposed Model For Alternative Dispute Resolution In Intellectual Property Disputes, Kevin M. Lemley

Akron Law Review

This article will discuss alternative dispute resolution in intellectual property disputes. A conceptual approach will be applied in an effort to better formulate the parties’ strategies towards litigation or alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a maturing area of the law, and its application to intellectual property disputes is complicated.1 These complications make any analysis difficult to organize. This article will discuss the underlying components of ADR and intellectual property disputes in a step-by-step fashion. Part I of this article discusses intellectual property rights and presents two conceptual interests underlying these rights. Deciding whether to litigate or pursue …

Gender Differences In Dispute Resolution Practice: Report On The Aba Section Of Dispute Resolution Practice Snapshot Survey, Gina Viola Brown, Andrea Kupfer Schneider

Akron Law Review

Some of the goals of the WIDR Committee were to change how neutral selection occurs in disputes, to increase the number of women who serve as neutrals, and to ensure that women and minorities were proportionally represented as neutrals.9 The first step, before suggesting changes, was to understand the current situation in the world of dispute resolution. In fall 2012, the Section of Dispute Resolution surveyed the lawyers belonging to the Section to determine how mediators and arbitrators are selected in legal cases and the types of cases being resolved through the many available dispute resolution processes. Specifically, the survey …

Mediating A Family: The Use Of Mediation In The Formation And Enforcement Of Post-Adoption Contact Agreements, Sophie Mashburn

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This comment will discuss how and why adoption law has evolved into a preference for open adoption, provide a brief history of post-adoption contact agreements, and discuss the current and best practices for utilizing post-adoption contact agreements. Finally, this comment will explore the use of mediation in various states to assist adoptive parents and birth parents in forming and maintaining an agreement they both accept and that furthers the best interests of the children being adopted. Using mediation to further the interests of children, adoptive couples, and birth parents is a positive trend in adoption law that should be encouraged …

Stop Making Court A First Stop For Many Low Income Parents, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of the unrest over police misconduct in cities across the country, calls for reform have focused on the criminal justice system — making police, prosecutors, and criminal courts more accountable and just. While much work needs to be done in that arena, too little attention has focused on the ways in which low income families are hurt in civil courts. Many more men, women and children from low income communities of color pass through the doors of our family courts every day than those who interact with the criminal justice system. Some come to court as a …

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Planning Is Critically Important For Early Dispute Resolution, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post pushes back against a complaint by lawyers that early mediation is a waste of time. Attempts to settle cases early in litigation can be wasteful if the lawyers haven’t properly prepared and planned the process. Some people think that “early” means that lawyers should try to resolve the ultimate issues right after all the parties have appeared in litigation. This post uses the term “early” as a shorthand for “earliest appropriate time.” To be ready to settle at the earliest appropriate time, lawyers should promptly learn the parties’ interests and the critical facts, reasonably anticipate the likely decision …

Decision-Making In Mediation: The New Old Grid And The New New Grid System, Leonard L. Riskin

Leonard L Riskin

This Article reviews the author's previous mediator-orientation models and proposes a new system for understanding the range of mediator orientations based on substantive, procedural, and meta-procedural decision-making grids.

The Represented Client In A Settlement Conference: The Lessons Of G. Heileman Brewing Co. V. Joseph Oat Corp., Leonard L. Riskin

Leonard L Riskin

This Article sets out various perspectives that litigants, lawyers and judges commonly bring to settlement conferences, perspectives on lawyer-client relations, negotiation, and the role of the judicial host. In examining the opinions in the Heileman case, along with other materials, the Article attempts to uncover the underlying assumptions about the settlement conference that informed the behavior of the judges and lawyers in that case, arguing that Heileman's explanation lies in the lawyers' and judges' tendency to embrace one of two radically different visions of the settlement conference. The Article then catalogs the advantages and disadvantages of involving clients in settlement …

Mindfulness: Foundational Training For Dispute Resolution, Leonard Riskin

Leonard L Riskin

This Article addresses the problem of mindlessness in counseling, negotiating, and mediating, and offers potential solutions and recommendations for developing foundational capacities through training in mindfulness meditation.

Teaching And Learning From The Mediations In Barry Werth's Damages, Leonard L. Riskin

Leonard L Riskin

This essay is based primarily on materials the author developed for courses taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Law, in the winter 2002 and 2003 semesters, based on Barry Werth's book, "Damages."

Understanding Mediators' Orientations, Strategies, And Techniques: A Grid For The Perplexed, Leonard L. Riskin

Leonard L Riskin

This Article begins with a review of previous efforts to categorize mediation and their shortfalls, including the lack of any widely-shared comprehensive method for describing the various approaches to mediation practice. The Article then offers a new "grid" system for classifying mediator orientations, strategies, and techniques and describes the potential utility of the grid, particularly its effectiveness in selecting mediators.

Great Value Of Students Playing Clients In Multi-Stage Simulations, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post describes the great results when I used multi-stage simulations in negotiation and family law dispute resolution courses. To simulate real life, I developed several simulations that started from the first client interview. I included other stages, such as (1) negotiating retainer agreements, (2) identifying additional information needed, (3) getting to know counterpart lawyers, (4) researching and negotiating about the law, (5) negotiating dispute resolution clauses, (6) preparing for negotiation with clients and counterpart lawyers, and (7) negotiating the ultimate issues. Students playing lawyers got especially valuable experiences because the students playing clients identified so strongly with their roles.

Everything I Know About Dispute Resolution Is Wrong – Especially What You Say About It, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post describes an extremely provocative discussion in a session at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution conference.

Book Review: El Conflicto Honduras - El Salvador Y El Orden Juridico Internacional. James Rowles. Editorial Universitario Centroamericana (Educa). Costa Rica, 1980., José R. Pagés

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.