1. Introduction to Mike's ADR (and related weblog)¯
January 4, 2005
I have been a lawyer now for seven years. I have been involved with various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for the past two years.
I apologize for my ignorance of weblogs and weblog etiquette. I was a early convert to the internet - before there was a web, but I am a latecomer to the world of weblogs.
My interest in having a blog on this topic is educational. Basically I want to share my experiences as a mediator and arbitrator so that anyone reading this blog can avoid my mistakes (and so those with more experience can give me pointers on how I can improve).
My interest is not primarily financial, although anyone who wishes can go to my office website at http://www.law-office-of-meb-pc.com and contact me through there. My law practice does pay for the groceries.
This blog may shift focus from time to time, depending on my inclinations. There may be occasions where I talk about bicycling or flyfishing or the Chicago Cubs. Please indulge my editorial urges.
I would also like any advice on how to improve the look of this site.
2. Alternative Dispute Resolution. As Dick the Butcher said in Henry VI "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." In 2005, the sentiment is the same. Many see the judicial system, especially in the United States and especially in Michigan, as being an expensive extravigance. Plaintiff's trial attorneys manipulate juries into awarding huge verdicts in frivolous cases.
The solution? Tort reform. Tort reform can be overt (caps on punitive and noneconomic damages). Tort reform can be covert (lets expand the use of altermatives to judicial trials (with juries) by encouraging mediation or arbitration).
I happen to do both. Mediation settles cases. Arbitration is a substitute for trial.
The legal system as a whole has been slower to embrace ADR. I still have attorneys who contact me confuse mediation with some other form of ADR (how can an attorney educate his/her client if s/he does not know the law?). I know many attorneys who are unwilling to "trust" arbitration (when the statistics show that awards in arbitration mirror jury verdicts). The US District Court for the Western District of Michigan has a very comprhensive system of pretrial dispute resolution (on paper, the most comprehensive system that I am aware of). There are precious few takers (apart from those who are ordered by the court to participate).
ADR saves the parties money. It reduces the cost to the taxpayer of trials. It is expedient. It is tried and true.
I will share my experiences in a court ordered mediation to take place on January 5, 2005 in a later posting.
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