2006 Articles

ADR happenings By Megan Boan November 2006 ADR updates from around the country.

ADR happenings By Megan Boan September 2006 After winning approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange is moving to exclude a wider range of neutrals from acting on behalf of the public arbitrators in securities disputes.

ADR happenings By Megan Kawa & Samia Zayed February 2006 In December, Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA) introduced the bill H.R. 4503, supported by Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and Sam Graves (R-MO).

Alternative dispute resolution in the 17th Judicial Circuit By Hon. Harris H. Agnew March 2006 The 17th Circuit, in collaboration with the Winnebago and Boone County Bar Associations, has been a leader in the development of alternative dispute resolution programs.

Arbitration preferred in domain name disputes By Steve Mroczkowski November 2006 According to a recent article* by Sheri Qualters of The National Law Journal, Internet domain name arbitration disputes have risen nearly a quarter since January 2005.

Arbitration: Why some general counsel have mixed feelings By Steve Mroczkowski September 2006 In a recent article appearing on law.com entitled “Arbitration’s Fall from Grace,” Lou Whiteman commented on the waning popularity of arbitration in the eyes of some corporate counsel in the United States.

Article and book reviews By Megan Boan & Whitney Roberts November 2006 Jerome T. Barret, a United States expert on interest-based methods, and John O’Dowd, a consultant to labor and management organizations in Ireland, write on the widespread adoption of cooperative strategies in negotiations, problem solving, and dispute resolution as an indicator of a country’s maturation in collective bargaining.

Case summaries By Steve Mroczkowski November 2006 Recent cases of interest to ADR practitioners.

Case summaries By Megan Boan September 2006 Morgan Stanley instituted arbitration proceedings against Laws to recover alleged deficit of $689,115 in Laws’ margin account.

Case summaries June 2006 Recent cases of interest to ADR practitioners.

Case summaries By Kristi Hornickel, Megan Kawa, & Samia Zayed April 2006 Traveler's Casualty and Surety Co. (Insurer) and ACandS (Insuree) entered into a coverage agreement which included an arbitration clause.

Case summaries By Kristi Hornickel & Samia Zayed March 2006 Recent cases of interest to ADR practitioners.

Case summaries By Megan Kawa & Samia Zayed February 2006 The Universal Service Fund filed a complaint at the district level alleging that defendants Sprint and AT&T collaborated with Worldcom in violation of the FCA and the Sherman Act.

Chair’s Column By Stephen B. Cohen November 2006 A message from Section Chair Stephen B. Cohen.

Chair’s Column By Stephen B. Cohen September 2006 This is my first message to the members of the ADR Section Council and those interested in Alternative Dispute Resolution upon my vice becoming Chair of the ADR Section Council. During the years that I have been on the Section Council, we have had a very devoted and hard working Section Council.

A dispute resolution balancing act By Stephanie Cady February 2006 As the field of mediation grows, the benefits of this method of alternative dispute resolution have become significant to the legal world.

Editor’s Note: Introducing In The Alternative’s new student editors By Thomas D. Cavenagh September 2006 Each year, In the Alternative selects students with an interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution to serve as student editors.

FMCS study found mediation saved $9 billion for economy By Megan Kawa February 2006 A study was released in November by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service claiming that $9 billion has been saved for business and workers between 1999 and 2004 by the use of mediation in labor negotiations and work stoppages.

Hamline University School of Law offers mediation case law project Web site By Steve Mroczkowski November 2006 “Learning about the mediation process by studying the adversarial opinion that the ADR process was designed to avoid may be ironic, but it can be productive.

Happenings By Kristi Hornickel, Megan Kawa, & Samia Zayed June 2006 After ruling on a case in which an arbitrator decided to dismiss a case after inferring a one-year statute of limitation from an expired contract, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the conditions under which an arbitrator's decision can be vacated for manifest disregard of the law.

Happenings By Kristi Hornickel, Megan Kawa, & Samia Zayed April 2006 Consumer arbitration policy has been a hotly contested issue and the New Jersey Supreme Court took center stage in the debate when it heard arguments from two cases in February.

Happenings By Kristi Hornickel & Tracie Hunt March 2006 The Florida Supreme Court plans to a debate a proposal that, if implemented, would better inform mediation participants about their obligations and the process itself.

Inadequate disclosure by arbitrator results in award being vacated By Robert E. Wells, Jr. June 2006 The Fifth Circuit in Positive Software Solutions, Inc. v. New Century Mortgage Corp., No. 4-11432 (January 11, 2006) held that an arbitrator's failure to disclose his professional relationship with an attorney from one of the parties, justified the District Court's decision to vacate the arbitration award.

International Alternative Dispute Resolution By Megan Boan November 2006 “Bill 27” puts an end to mandating binding arbitration clauses in domestic contracts (Canada) The bill, which amends the Family Law Act, is supposed to address the unequal bargaining power existing in the arbitration of family law disputes in Canada.

International alternative dispute resolution By Steve Mroczkowski September 2006 Organizations such as the American Arbitration Association and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (the international division of the AAA) have already taken action to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution internationally.

The jury system: Evolution of revolution By Robert E. Wells, Jr. April 2006 The jury system is under attack in Congress, in the Illinois Legislature, and in the press. Much of the criticism focuses on the perception of “run-away jury verdicts.”

Mediation can constitute social work By Megan Kawa March 2006 As a licensed clinical social worker through 1998, Jerry Penny continued to practice even though his license expired.

Message from the Chair By Hon. Michael Jordan June 2006 The 2005-2006 year has been moving faster than I had imagined when I moved up to Chair last spring under the presidency of Bob Downs.

Message from the Chair By Hon. Michael Jordan April 2006 I believe this edition of our newsletter has many issues to consider for our respective practices. Each article and case report selected usually becomes food for thought for me.

Message from the Chair By Hon. Michael Jordan March 2006 As most of you are aware, the Illinois Supreme Court recently raised the dollar amount of Small Claims from $5,000 to $10,000 effective the beginning of 2006 with the resulting effect of having fewer cases subject to mandatory arbitration.