Newsletter
November 2004

AALS ANNUAL MEETING
JOINT PROGRAM OF ADR AND LITIGATION SECTIONS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2005, 2-5 PM

Skills Training for the Lawyer: Teaching How to Use ADR in Litigation of Family Business Disputes
This workshop presents an interactive “fishbowl” demonstration of a simulated family business dispute. Alternative dispute resolution techniques -- negotiation, mediation, arbitration -- are valuable components in the spectrum of modern advocacy skills. This demonstration and analysis will help law teachers convey to their students a sense of the appropriate timing, circumstances, risks and benefits involved in using ADR. A panel will analyze key teaching points in the exercise, as highlighted by the moderators. The use of “stop-action” opens the floor for discussion involving the workshop participants as the exercise progresses. The hypothetical problem is one familiar to business lawyers: the father who founded a successful business wishes to transfer the going concern to his adult children. However, there is no consensus among the family members about whether and to whom the business should convey. Or, should the business be sold to a much larger, publicly-held corporation? The latter choice could be lucrative and expedient. But this larger corporation is unlikely to share the same business and cultural values as the father. The demonstration and analysis will focus on the “people problems” involved in the “legal problems” and how flexible, perceptive utilization of negotiation, mediation and litigation can be used to strike an appropriate, ethical balance.

Panelists will include:

The Section annual business meeting of the will take place at the end of the program, including an election of officers for the coming year.

The executive committee for 2004 includes:

For more information about the AALS Annual Meeting, see http://www.aals.org/am2005/. The location of the session may change due to a strike at the San Francisco Hilton. For updates about the meeting, see http://www.aals.org/am2005/updates.

MEETING AT AALS TO DISCUSS FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2005, 7:30-8:30 AM
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and Hofstra University School of Law Center for Children, Families and the Law are co-sponsoring a Family Law Education Reform Project to develop a course of study that effectively prepares future lawyers for the practice of family law and for addressing the problems that families and children bring to court. The project will bring together family law faculty and a multi-disciplinary group of practitioners and scholars to consider how best to teach law students about the interdisciplinary focus of contemporary practice and the broad use of dispute resolution techniques. The goal of this project is to identify these tools and techniques, and to create curricular modules that enable family law teachers to present these ideas and approaches to their students, either in advanced family law courses, or in a form easily incorporated into a basic family law course. Members of the AALS ADR Section (John Lande, Missouri - Columbia) and Family and Juvenile Law Section (Jennifer Rosato, Brooklyn) serve on the Project Steering Committee and will provide an update on the Project and solicit suggestions about its work.

OPPORTUNITY TO PROPOSE PROGRAM FOR 2005 AALS MEETING
Time is being reserved in the Annual Meeting schedule for programs devoted to late-breaking legal issues or topics. Faculty members who are interested in organizing a panel on such an issue or topic will have the opportunity to submit proposals until Monday, November 29, 2004 for the 2005 Annual Meeting. The purpose of this special “hot topics” slot is to provide a forum for a panel presentation on a timely and important issue of general interest that arises after the deadline for section and other programs.

Proposals will be evaluated by the immediate Past President of the AALS in consultation with the Executive Committee. If no program proposals are chosen for any particular year, the reserved slot will not otherwise be filled. Proposals may be sent to AALS Deputy Director Joyce Saltalamachia, Association of American Law Schools, 1201 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-2717 or by e-mail to jsaltalamachia@aals.org.

ABA SECTION OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION CONFERENCE
LEGAL EDUCATORS’ COLLOQUIUM
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2005, 9 AM - 2 PM
Mark you calendars for the AALS-ABA co-sponsored Legal Educators’ Colloquium which occurs during the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Conference. This year we will be in Los Angeles, April 14-16, with the Colloquium on Saturday, April 16. The program promises to provide new insights and ideas ready to be implemented. The Colloquium will include the following sessions:

International and Comparative Aspects of ADR

Harold Abramson, Touro
Benjamin Davis, Toledo
Jacqueline Nolan-Haley, Fordham
Jean Sternlight, Nevada - Las Vegas

Implications of Race and Culture on ADR

Phyllis Bernard, Oklahoma City
Michael Green, Texas Wesleyan
Larry Pittman, Mississippi

How to Use Empirical Research in Our Classrooms

Chris Guthrie, Vanderbilt
Bobbi McAdoo, Hamline
Nancy Welsh, Pennsylvania State

Making Sense of Contributions to ADR from Other Disciplines

Robert Bordone, Harvard
Russell Korobkin, UCLA
Andrea Kupfer Schneider, Marquette

There will be a program for adjuncts to network and learn about ADR resources available for classroom teachers. In addition, several people will present classroom exercises or other activities related to the Lawyer as Problem Solver Program.

The Planning Committee for the Legal Educators’ Colloquium includes:

Suzanne Schmitz, Southern Illinois, Co-chair
Maureen Weston, Pepperdine, Co-chair
Robert Ackerman, Pennsylvania State
Michael Green, Texas Weslyan
Bobby Marzine Harges, Loyola - New Orleans
Michael Moffitt, Oregon

ENTRIES SOUGHT FOR LAWYER AS PROBLEM SOLVER PROGRAM
Each year the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution seeks exercises, role-plays, or simulations that are designed to have students develop the perspective of the Lawyer as Problem Solver. Entries selected are distributed at the Legal Educators’ Colloquium. Several individual demonstrate or present their submissions at a workshop session during the Colloquium. If you are interested in having your ADR exercise, roleplay, or simulation chosen for and “tested” at the Colloquium, please forward a paper copy no later than February 1, 2005 to: ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, Dispute Resolution Resource Center, 740 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005, phone: (202) 662-1680, fax: (202) 662-1683. Please also send a version as an e-mail attachment to Gina Brown.

ADR SECTION LISTSERV
The ADR Section operates a listserv to promote discussion of academic and legal issues of interest to Section members. It is an excellent medium for sharing and soliciting information about upcoming events, publications, or other matters. Only members of the AALS ADR section or other law faculty teaching ADR-related courses are eligible to participate. Postings on the listserv are archived at http://po.missouri.edu/archives/aals-adr-l.html. To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail message to: listserv@po.missouri.edu. In the body of the text, write: subscribe AALS-ADR-L. For more information, e-mail Jim Levin (Missouri - Columbia).

ADR SECTION WEB SITE
The ADR Section maintains a web site at http://www.law.missouri.edu/aalsadr/index.htm. The web site includes information about the Section, syllabi and other teaching materials for dispute resolution courses, and links to law school ADR programs and other resources. If you would like to contribute syllabi or other teaching materials, e-mail John Lande (Missouri - Columbia).

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS FOR ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Registration for the Fourth Annual International Competitions for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR 2005) is open. The competitions will be held early next year. The goal is to enhance worldwide law student understanding of online dispute resolution. Competitions are being held again in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration and a prototype litigation competition is being started this year. ICODR is open to law students anywhere in the world and is free. All that the student needs is access to the internet with a browser and permission of a faculty member to participate. Schools in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States have expressed interest so far. The competitions are free. Hypotheticals are scheduled to be handed out in early January 2005 and the competition will begin in February. For information about a past competition, see http://www.westworkspace.com/eroom/icodr2003 username: observer2004, password: observer2004. For further information, go to http://www.odr.info/icodr2005.php or e-mail Alan Gaitenby or Benjamin Davis.

SYMPOSIUM: “TRIALS ON TRIAL: ARE TRIALS VANISHING AND WHY?”
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2004, 9 AM -12:30 PM
In collaboration with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution is hosting a symposium entitled, “Trials on Trial: Are Trials Vanishing and Why?” The Symposium will be held at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 55 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Using Marc Galanter’s article on the “vanishing trial” as a starting point, panelists will engage in a dialogue exploring declining trial rates and the interplay between the growing use of alternative dispute resolution processes and that phenomenon. The Symposium will engage leading experts and scholars from across the country in a discussion questioning whether the trial is truly vanishing, the cause and effects of the dramatic decrease in trials over the past several decades and exploring various possibilities for replacing or rehabilitating the trial. The public is welcome! To register, e-mail the Symposium Editor Jessica Oser.

Moderators and panelists include:

Hal Abramson, Touro
Dennis Drasco, Chair, ABA Section of Litigation
John Lande, Missouri - Columbia
Homer LaRue, Howard
Lela Love, Cardozo
Bruce Meyerson, Former Chair, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution
Donna Stienstra, Federal Judicial Center
Kevin Stack, Cardozo
Thomas Stipanowich, President and CEO, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution

SYMPOSIUM: “THE COLLISION OF TWO IDEALS: LEGAL ETHICS AND THE WORLD OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION”
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005
The Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution presents a symposium entitled, “The Collision of Two Ideals: Legal Ethics and the World of Alternative Dispute Resolution.” The symposium will focus on the role of legal ethics in the field of alternative dispute resolution. A panel of judges will discuss the ethics of court-mandated ADR, the proper role of courts in the enforcement of private dispute resolution agreements, and the ethics of settlement. A second panel will review ethical questions facing practicing attorney and non-attorney neutrals. A discussion on the existing ethical standards for ADR and their shortcomings followed by a panel proposing new model rules will conclude the event.

Speakers will include:

Richard A. Bales, Northern Kentucky
Robert Bordone, Harvard
John W. (Jack) Cooley, Private practice
Christopher M. Fairman, Ohio State
Jack C. Hanna, JAMS and Former Director, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution
Kimberlee K. Kovach, South Texas
Lela Porter Love, Cardozo
Martin Malin, Chicago - Kent
Rodney Max, Upchurch Watson White & Max
Paula Young, Appalachian

NEW TEXT AVAILABLE
 Aspen Publishers is releasing a new text, “Dispute Resolution: Beyond the Adversarial Model” by Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow, Lela Porter Love, Andrea Kupfer Schneider, and Jean R. Sternlight. This book examines the current state of ADR and incorporates four key aspects for each of the negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and hybrid dispute resolution processes. These aspects are the: (1) theoretical framework defining the process, (2) skills needed to practice it, (3) ethical issues implicated in its use, and (4) legal and policy analyses relevant to the process. For more information, see the Aspen Publishers web site or e-mail Carrie Menkel-Meadow.