We are privileged to have observed many talented predecessors with years of dedicated service to ABI and the Mediation Committee during our time as co-chairs. We also have had the good fortune to work with very competent subcommittee directors. Several of our directors are seasoned hands, while others are relative newcomers.
Committees
The Mediation Committee presented several great CLE sessions this summer at regional bankruptcy workshops around the country. In addition, the committee just presented a fantastic CLE program at ABI’s Winter Leadership Conference this past weekend, which we will summarize in the next newsletter.
“[M]ediation provides a vital alternative to litigation;” its benefits “include its cost-effectiveness, speed, and adaptability.” [1] But despite these benefits, many litigants only turn to mediation to resolve their disputes after filing a lawsuit rather than before.
Our committee has been quite active during the last few months!
Retired Bankruptcy Judge Louis Kornreich has been a mainstay for the ABI Mediation Committee for many years and now serves as a co-chair. As a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, he was respected for his innovative approach to solving problems that crop up in cases by employing mediation-like skills to help parties resolve their disputes without using the full panoply of litigation tools.
As bankruptcy cases of all types continue to be filed in record numbers, the use of mediation is increasing. This trend is likely to continue. This article focuses on the concepts that a lawyer must know and actions that he/she should take to avoid or overcome an impasse in mediation. The obstacles to reaching a settlement vary with each case.
Just when we thought we were in the clear from this COVID thing, we have been experiencing another not-so-small blip; however, this go-around there has not been a shutdown (yet). Even with the stops and starts, our Mediation Committee remained active. We have increased our committee membership and participation in committee leadership.
In late 2020, I received a letter from the judge who presides over the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court’s mediation program inquiring as to whether I satisfied New Jersey’s annual mediation skills requirements. I immediately asked myself, “What requirements?”
A little wheel is spinning on this exiting-the-pandemic thing. Many stops and starts. In person vs. Zoom. However, our committee will continue to plow forward with mediating in challenging times. Bankruptcy and mediation are continually changing, and our committee adapts accordingly with insightful programs, best practices and information.
Time and timing permeate all aspects of the mediation process, including:
Hosted by the Business Reorganization and Mediation Committees
This webinar is geared to attorneys participating as advocates in mediations. It is intended to provide guidance for attorney advocates on how to select mediators, prepare themselves and their clients for mediation, and how to formulate negotiating strategies for use in the mediation. This program will also include tips for ensuring the attorney advocate and the client have properly formulated a risk assessment and negotiating strategy in advance of the mediation, as well as tips for dealing with impasse.
Authors of the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee's most recent newsletter hosted a call to discuss their topic, mediation of bankruptcy disputes.
During this informative call, the Newsletter Editors for the Mediation and Bankruptcy Litigation committees briefly disucssed the results of their joint survey concerning views about mediation. Ed Dobbs then lead a substansive discussion on mediation ethics. Click here to view the results of the survey and the outline provided by Mr. Dobbs that were published in a recent newsletter.
War and Peace: Recent Trends and Developments in Bankruptcy Litigation and Mediation
Consumer Mortgage Modification Mediation: A Florida Success Story
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The Bifferato Firm
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Monaco Mediation
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