At the last quarterly Dispute Resolution Section Roundtable, held on August 20, 2024, mediators discussed an all-too-common issue: what happens when a party does not pay or delays the payment of mediation fees beyond what is reasonable? Unfortunately, delayed or nonpayment of the mediator has become a common issue, and mediators face unique challenges in collecting fees.
In the world of technology, I am more curious than skilled. As a solo practitioner, mediator and arbitrator, my skill set can generously be described as “adaptive.” When I lost an entire federal court brief in a technological swamp the night before it was due and had to pull an all-nighter to recreate it, I learned a hard lesson about saving backups. An email hack taught me about both two-factor authentication (and that I could repurpose swear words I had archived for more life-threatening emergencies).
Technology in alternative dispute resolution has been a story of adaptation, too. During the pandemic, we quickly learned how to use Zoom for mediations, arbitrations and court hearings. For many of us, Zoom mediations remain a significant part of what we do. But as naturally cautious lawyers, few of us welcome the opportunity to dip our toes into machine learning or purely online adaptations to the classic forms and forums we have grown accustomed to.
Despite the uncertainty we may feel, technology is transforming everything we know, and machine learning and other technology promise to be a bigger and bigger part of our lives. If you’re like me, AI has become a go-to resource in drafting simple letters, planning vacation itineraries and other rudimentary tasks. On a weekly basis, too, I get notifications about AI or other technological resources that are becoming routine in the practice of law.
By Amy Cox Gruendel and Sean Vitrano
The Pro Bono Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section is one of the most active committees in the section. Its work includes:
• The Pro Bono Partners (“PBP”) Initiative: A project that identifies organizations with ready-made, quality opportunities for section members to provide pro bono dispute resolution services.
• The List: A curated list of organizations that often need volunteers with dispute resolution skills. Unlike the more structured opportunities identified in the PBP Initiative, potential opportunities identified on The List occur on a more ad hoc basis and provide a wider range of experience.
The Race & Equity Committee has taken strides to increase diversity in the alternative dispute resolution field. The Committee’s focus is (1) to identify projects and programs that provide members of the section with opportunities to increase equity and access in the ADR field and to draw upon the talents, skill sets, and life experiences of all people working to resolve conflicts; (2) to support the creation of new opportunities; and (3) to encourage member and legal community participation in said initiatives.
The “Try Someone New” campaign is an example – a Diverse Mediator List that highlights the bios, practice areas, and contact information of certified mediators who are either racially or ethnically diverse or Spanish-speaking. The Committee, with the support of the Dispute Resolution Section, has also sponsored and subsidized mediation training for certification with scholarships for several neutrals of color.
By Frank Laney
Recently the Commission has been asked to look at certain aspects of waivers and immunity for mediators. In preliminary discussions with Tara, it occurred to us (Tara) that there is a hole in the best practice advice that the Commission as well as the trainers may have been giving over the years.
Commonly, mediators have been advised that if you are mediating a case that is not referred or ordered to mediation by a court, then take advantage of the many features of the court program by incorporating the rules into your agreement to mediate. While there are lots of valuable attributes to be found in the MSC and FFS Rules, one thing that is only in the statute is immunity for the mediator.
By Amy Cox Gruendel and Sean Vitrano
At the Annual Meeting of the Dispute Resolution Section this past March, attorney Deborah (Deb) Lynn Dilman became the inaugural recipient of the Section’s Harmony Award. The Harmony Award recognizes a section Member who, during the course of the award year, provides significant pro bono service as a dispute resolution professional; contributes to the development of the dispute resolution field through volunteerism and leadership; and participates in general civic, community, and charitable efforts during the award year.
Deb is an attorney at Southpark Family Law in Charlotte. She is a NCDRC-certified Family Financial Mediator and a Collaborative Law practitioner who enjoys helping her clients find creative solutions that provide peace of mind and hope for the future.
By Salim Uqdah
It’s been an excellent year for the Dispute Resolution Section. We awarded our inaugural Harmony Award to Deb Dilman of Southpark Family Law in Charlotte and the Peace Award to J. Randolph Ward. Section Chair Jim Cooley implemented meaningful task forces to foster innovation in the field. Finally, the Race & Equity Committee has launched a new “Try Someone New” campaign to promote the use of talented, diverse mediators across the state.
By Salim Uqdah
We hope everyone’s 2023 is off to a great start! The Dispute Resolution Section asks all mediators, arbitrators, collaboratively trained practitioners/neutrals, paralegals, and attorneys to please complete this Pro Bono Survey.
The survey measures pro bono work in the field of dispute resolution (including but not limited to mediation, arbitration, and collaborative law cases). Your responses will help determine nominees for the NCBA Pro Bono Awards and the inaugural Harmony Award.
By Jim Cooley
We move forward.
The Council of the Dispute Resolution Section met on December 7, 2022, with 37 Council members, committee chairs and past section chairs in attendance. Up for discussion were seven possible task force topics and the results of a survey of Council members and other section leaders about those topics. The survey included questions about whether participants would actively participate in a task force and, if so, which of the topics would be their first or second choice. Here is a summary of the survey results:
By Frank Laney
In the early 1990s, I conducted mediations for divorcing couples and had a steady growing business. In most cases, one party or both had attorneys with whom they consulted, but those attorneys never came to the mediation meetings. So, I would draft a set of notes, recording the agreements the parties reached and one or the other would take it to an attorney to have it drafted into a binding separation agreement. Finally, I mediated with an elderly couple who had little money, and neither had an attorney. I prepared my notes and gave them to the couple and instructed them to have an attorney prepare their separation agreement. They had great difficulty finding an attorney who was willing to undertake that task, except one who would write it for $10,000, which they thought was outrageous. They came back to me to discuss what to do next. I remember the old man, haltingly pointing to the diploma on my wall. “You’re an attorney, aren’t you?”
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