Message from the Chairs

Greetings and welcome to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee homepage. We are fresh from the ABA Section of Litigation’s Fall Leadership meeting in Chicago and have some positive energy.

The committee’s first three-year plan has been a great collaborative effort. (You can request your own copy from either one of us.) We are pursuing membership growth; continual improvement of our programming; providing new noteworthy content on our committee webpage and in our quarterly newsletter; providing valuable resources and other member benefits; and reviewing our committee organization. There will be roles for many of our members to play as we put this plan into action.

The 2009 Editors’ Symposium, which took place on October 2 in Chicago, brought together many Section of Litigation content managers and committee cochairs to discuss recent successes, collaboration opportunities, and new ideas. Roger Slade and Jobi Halper participated on behalf of the committee. Our newsletter Conflict Management always includes plenty of useful content, but we are always looking for additional contributors and different ways to share information with our members. Authoring an article, perhaps based on a recent case or another presentation, is a great way to get involved with our committee.

There are a variety of subcommittees within the committee that you can participate in. (See www.abanet.org/litigation/committees/adr/subcommittes.html for a complete list.) We are actively reviewing that organizational structure—both in terms of subjects and leadership. If you have input as to any new subcommittees you believe might be appropriate or would like to be considered for cochairing a subcommittee, please let one of us know.

In case you missed us in Chicago at the ABA Annual Meeting this past August, our committee presented an excellent program titled “Arbitration: Has It Fulfilled Its Promises?” Look for the course materials here.

A few words about the next Section of Litigation Annual Conference, to be held in New York City from April 21 to 23, 2010. We are excited to again have a track of programs focused on arbitration (including class actions, globalization/international, and arbitration skills). This conference is a great networking event, and the programming will be outstanding.

As you can tell, we are a very busy committee. Special thanks go out to our program subcommittee chair, Rebecca Williams, for a fantastic job orchestrating program submissions and coordinating with panelists to ensure our usual high quality programming. Of course, the Conflict Management newsletter does not happen without the hard work of several people, including our hard-working editorial board. We especially want to recognize and appreciate Manjit Gill  for his tireless efforts. On the electronic side of our content, our webpage is kept fresh by Patrick McKinney, Liana Grossman and Jobi Halper, the newest addition to our team, who has really hit the ground running.

Finally, we urge those of you who are reading this message and wondering how to get more involved with the ADR Committee to consider contributions to our quarterlynewsletter, submitting focused content for this website, submitting ideas for CLE programming, or contacting either of us about any other area that suits you and your interests and expertise.

There is always a lot going on in the ADR Committee, and we look forward to your continued, renewed, or new involvement. Check this webpage frequently for new ADR developments.

Charles M. Denton
Lori A. Sochin
Co-Chairs, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee