Items of Interest for Mediators:
The most recent listings of Case Law and Legislative Updates for mediators from the Dispute Resolution Section of the ABA were published in March, May and July 2009. One additional Indiana case was reported in January:
Court of Appeals of Indiana
The issue before the court was whether the trial court could ordering disclosure of the settlement agreement and garnishing settlement funds owed to Buchanan and B & W II following the confidential mediation of a legal malpractice dispute. The court found that the trial court did not err in ordering the disclosure as it did not use the terms of the agreement to prove liability for or invalidity of the claims being litigated [2009 WL 3518003 (Ind.App.)]
Federal Legislation:
Foreclosure Mandatory Mediation Act of 2009 (S. 2912 introduced on December 18, 2009) requires that before a qualified mortgagee may initiate a foreclosure proceeding or a sheriff sale, the qualified mortgagee shall conduct, consistent with any applicable State or local requirements, a one-time mediation with the affected mortgagor and a housing counseling agency, at the expense of the qualified mortgagee.
Conflict Resolution and Mediation Act of 2009 (H. R. 4000 introduced November 3, 2009) will provide assistance to local educational agencies for the prevention and reduction of conflict and violence by providing funding along with a written model for conflict resolution and mediation that will be available to any local educational agency that requests such information.
Other Resouces:
The ABA House of Delegates has unanimously adopted a Section Resolution supporting Mediation for Foreclosure cases and has established a subcommittee to help foreclosure mediation programs in states where they don't exist, to provide support to programs that are already operating, and to help educate homeowners and lenders of the value of low cost mediation as an element of such programs. For further information, contact David Moora of the ABA.
The ABA-DR Section has a Free Guide to Dispute Resolution available to educate members of the public about dispute resolution processes that are commonly used to resolve legal, community, school, public policy and other types of disputes.
Getting to Know Mediation is a web-based educational presentation put together by the ABA-DR Section (note: Adobe Flash required.) It contains information that clients, attorneys, and members of the public may find useful to learn more about mediation.
The American Bar Association has established a Standing Committee to answer questions from mediators, parties to a mediation, and their lawyers regarding Mediation Ethics questions. Persons submitting questions do not need to be members of the ABA. Answers will be based on state ethics authorities and the American Bar Association Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (2005). The advisory opinions are available for review.
The ABA Task Force on improving Mediation Quality has come out with a pamphlet to help mediators improve their practice.
The Dispute Resolution Section of the ABA has recently published some articles containing practice tips.
The Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (2005 Final Version, adopted April 2007), as approved by the ABA House of Delegates, ACR, and AAA is available for review.
The Association for Conflict Resolution has established a new Section on Elder-Law Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution and the Summer issue of ACResolution will discuss "New Perspectives on Elder Mediation: Evolving Ethics and Best Practices." For for details, visit the ACR website.
Mediation has an entry in Wikipedia. View the article.
