Fall 2020: Presumptive ADR and Court Systems of the Future

On Friday, October 23, 2020, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution hosted the Melnick Annual Symposium on “Presumptive ADR and Court Systems of the Future.” This Symposium was inspired by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s bold new Presumptive ADR initiative for the New York Courts.

After a keynote address by Chief Judge DiFiore, six different panels examined the obstacles and opportunities in a historic move towards presumptive, mandatory and highly recommended ADR and mediation, in the United States and around the world. To view the official program PDF, click here. To view the recorded panels, click the titles of the panels below.

Keynote Address by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore

Panel 1: Leadership and Implementation: Presumptive ADR in NY, with Lisa Courtney, Esq. (Statewide ADR Coordinator – NYS Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration), Lisa Denig, Esq. (Special Counsel for ADR Initiatives – NYS Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration), Joel R. Kullas, Esq. (ADR Coordinator for the 3rd, 4th, 9th& 10thJudicial Districts), Bridget O’Connell, Esq. (ADR Coordinator for the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Judicial Districts & the Court of Claims), and Daniel Weitz, Esq. ’96 (Director of the Division of Professional & Court Services – NYS Unified Court System).

Panel 2: Innovative Programs and Pilots, with Judge Doris Gonzalez (Bronx County) and Judge Deborah Kaplan (New York County) and ADR Coordinators Amy L. DiFranco, Esq. (Upstate New York), Lauren Jones, Esq. (Surrogate’s Court, New York County), Yvonne Marin, Esq. (Nassau County), Jean Norton, Esq. (New York County), and Robyn Weinstein, Esq. ’09 (US District Court, Eastern District of New York).

Panel 3: Assessment, Direction, and Vision for the Future, with Edwina Richardson-Mendelson (Deputy Chief Administrative Judge – Office for Justice Initiatives), Jennifer Shack (Director of Research – Resolution Systems Institute), and Professors Donna Erez-Navot ’06 (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law), and Nancy Welsh (Texas A&M University School of Law).

Panel 4: Other Mandatory, Presumptive or Strongly Encouraged ADR Initiatives: From State to Federal Courts, and Beyond, with Giuseppe De Palo, Esq. (Ombudsman for United Nations Funds and Programmes), Tamara Lange, Esq., (ADR Program Director – US District Court, Northern District of California), Professor Sharon Press (Mitchell Hamline School of Law), Maurice Robinson, Esq. ’09 (EEO Officer for NYCHA Department of Equal Opportunity), and Douglas Van Epps, Esq. (Director, Office of Dispute Resolution Michigan Supreme Court).

Panel 5: The Court Systems of the Future and ODR, with Professors Brian Farkas, Esq. ’13 (Arent Fox), David Larson (Mitchell Hamline School of Law), and Colin Rule (President and CEO – Mediate.com).

Panel 6: Keeping up with the Times: ADR in Legal Education, with Professors James Coben (Mitchell Hamline School of Law), Homer La Rue (Howard University School of Law), Lela Love (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law), Carrie Menkel-Meadow (University of California, Irvine School of Law), Thomas Stipanowich (Pepperdine University, Caruso School of Law), and Joseph Stulberg (The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law).