A three-part series in the New York Times this past fall (“Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice,” Oct. 31), spotlighting certain abuses and injustices in particular types of arbitration, has gained wide attention in the ADR community, the broader ...

Tagged with: ADR

You and a coworker may be suffering from idiopathic mutual irritation, and never know it. Idiopathic mutual irritation, or IMI, is a phenomenon I see so often in my mediation practice that I had to give it a name. “Idiopathic” ...

Tagged with: ADR

A federal appeals court has ruled that a cellphone salesperson’s overtime pay class action can go to court because the employer invalidated its own arbitration clause. The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the wisdom that ...

Tagged with: ADR Employment Federal Courts Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

ROANOKE – Going light on preparation can doom your client’s mediation session, one retired judge says. Failure to properly prepare the client was number one on Judge Jonathan Apgar’s list of reasons that mediations don’t work out. The retired judge, ...

Tagged with: ADR Judge Jonathan M. Apgar

As mediators, attorneys and educators, we understand the importance of preparing litigators to engage in mediation advocacy effectively. We also understand the realities of law firm practice and the scarcity of time attorneys have to devote to professional development. However, ...

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Court-referred mediation is happening daily in Virginia, in sessions conducted by lawyers and non-lawyers certified as mediators by the Supreme Court of Virginia. With thousands of cases referred annually by the commonwealth’s courts, the Supreme Court’s Dispute Resolution Services program ...

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A Virginia-based company that manages global transport operations will contest a contract’s arbitration clause in a tribunal in Lithuania, an Alexandria U.S. District Court ruled last month. The Virginia company was defending an action for a loan repayment filed by ...

Tagged with: ADR Contract Federal Courts Judge T.S. Ellis III

What is elder mediation? It is a voluntary process to resolve conflicts regarding the needs of those who are elderly or with special needs and their families. Elder mediators typically use what is called “facilitative mediation,” wherein a neutral facilitator ...

Tagged with: ADR Elder Law

How much does an agent for a star NFL player get paid? It depends, of course, on the player, the contract and the cash involved. But under the league’s “Standard Representation Agreement,” the figure is 3 percent. That nugget comes ...

Tagged with: ADR Federal Courts Judge James C. Cacheris

The small, first generation of lawsuit mediators experienced settlement negotiations from a unique perspective — not from the sides of the table, but at the center, where you see and hear much more, especially during confidential caucuses. Over the course ...

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