Whats Happening 01.25.11

The ADR Book Club is starting February 6th, 2011. The idea and concept behind the book club is to bring various conflict resolution professionals, academics, students and practitioners together...

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Realtors are Creating Ombuds Programs to Offer Stakeholders an Alternative Dispute Resolution Option

Tom A Kosakowski- Local Realtor boards across the US are turning to Ombuds programs in growing numbers to address concerns from consumers and Realtors. The first program was started by the California Association of Realtors and was well received. Subsequently, the National Association of Realtors adopted a policy that serves as the model for local Realtor organizations. (Although the NAR policy has been widely copied, it is not available online.)

Paul Merlyn- Spend a little time inside any mediators’ discussion group and it won’t be long before someone complains how hard it is to be a full-time mediator. Interestingly, they invariably externalize blame, attributing it primarily to two causes: (i) prospective clients don’t understand mediation; and (ii) access to cases is controlled by lawyers or the courts. Yet neither is true...

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Fairly Legal: Positives

Clare Flowers- ...The main thing to remember is: a show like Fairly Legal brings the word "mediation" up in conversation. It brings the word "mediation" up in Google searches.

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Mediation in prime time....I like it! (Fairly Legal) Lynsee Swisher- The much anticipated "Fairly Legal" made its debut last night. Although, many may of not been on the edge of your seat waiting for this program to air but it sure had a ton of media hype the last few weeks.

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Fairly Legal or Barely Ethical? Jason Dykstra- There were many that found the show unethical, in bad taste, and not true to what mediation is. There were also many (non-mediators, generally) people that loved the show.

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