By Judge J. Randolph (“Randy”) Ward This year marks the 30th anniversary of mediation in North Carolina‘s Workers’ Compensation system, introduced by a pair of North Carolina Bar Association CLEs presented live on September 21, 1992, at the Raleigh’s Velvet Cloak Inn. “Mediation for Workers’ Compensation Counsel” was held in the morning, and “Worker’s Compensation […]
By Steve Dunn Miscommunication and misunderstanding are two of the biggest obstacles in mediation. In most cases, there is plenty to disagree about even when the parties understand each other clearly. Mixed signals and misinterpretations make it hard to settle cases, but they are quite common. When the parties speak different languages, the risk of […]
By Jim Cooley The NCBA Dispute Resolution Section (DR Section) started as a committee of the NCBA which imagined a future, first, of court-ordered arbitration for small claims matters and, later, of court-ordered mediation of civil cases throughout the State’s Superior Court Division. Over time, the Committee successfully developed and implemented programs for the court-ordered […]
By Frank Laney Many mediators describe themselves as reformed litigators – lawyers who have spent decades in the litigation trenches, fighting court battles for their clients. Then, at some point in their career, they have an epiphany – they realize that there is a better way to get their clients to where the client wants […]
By Jim Cooley Jim Cooley here. Vice chairs, like vice presidents, don’t have much productive to do, so I thought I would give you a quick report on the Council’s December 1, 2021, meeting, and the upcoming events in March and May 2022. Mark your calendar for the section’s CLE on March 18 featuring Ken […]
By Sarah Kromer It is a privilege to serve as your Section Chair for 2021-2022, particularly with our team of officers this year: Vice-Chair Jim Cooley, Secretary Jim Oden, and Treasurer Denise Cline. Many thanks go to Kate Deiter-Maradei, our Section Chair last year, who worked very hard for all of us. I also want […]
By Tara Kozlowski The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission would like to share with the members of the NCBA Dispute Resolution Section amendments the Supreme Court of North Carolina made to the MSC Rules, FFS Rules, Clerk Rules, DRC Rules, and Standards of Professional Conduct. These amendments became effective on Oct. 1, 2021. The MSC […]
By Ketan P. Soni What is an ombudsman? I’m not sure it matters, although Roy Baroff might disagree. What really matters is that Roy happens to be one, and he’s one of the foundation stones of dispute resolution in North Carolina. Roy is our “Peace Award” recipient in 2021, the 20th year of this prestigious […]
By Matt Van Sickle The NCBA Dispute Resolution Section will host a 6-hour CLE on March 11 and 12. The title of the program is “Who Are You? Pleased to Meet Me – What You Know About Yourself and Others, Consciously or Unconsciously,” and will include discussions of the psychology of dispute resolution, unconscious bias, […]
By Tara Kozlowski The Dispute Resolution Commission would like to welcome four new members to the DRC! Zachary Bolen, Ketan Soni, Jayne Zanglein, and Lisa Johnson-Tonkins have all joined the Dispute Resolution Commission for a three-year term beginning Oct. 1, 2020. On Nov. 17, 2020, the Supreme Court amended the MSC, FFS and Clerk Program […]