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President’s Message
By Gene Roberts

Why ACR?

            Welcome to January, 2010.  The name of our first month derives from Janus, a god in Roman mythology.  Janus is an unusual looking fellow because he has two faces, one facing one way and the other facing the opposite direction, allowing him to see the past and the future simultaneously.
This time of year is traditionally a time of reflection for all of us.  We take time to ask, "Where have we been?  Where are we going?"  Most of us set goals for the year.  My personal goals are always the same:  eat better, sleep more, exercise more often, read the Bible daily, do a better job of keeping in touch with my friends, and improve my business. 
As an organization, I believe we need to take inventory of where ACR-Dallas has been and to think about where we are going.
Your newly elected board members and officers met for over three hours to examine our past and to make plans for our future.  We are focused on making ACR-Dallas a first-rate organization that provides you with relevant information that you can use for your practice.
We are implementing steps to increase our internet presence (www.dallasacr.org) thanks to the good work of Marc Lilly.  Our website will be a means for us to communicate with each other between meetings and as a source of educational materials for our members (for example, video presentations and papers discussing current issues in conflict resolution).  The website is a current, and constant, work in progress, so please bear with us, but in the interim, please make an account on the website so you can have full access to its features.  Visit the website regularly.  The more hits it receives, the better.
We are also planning on emphasizing October, 2010, as Conflict Resolution Month.  The third Thursday in October is always "Conflict Resolution Day" and your board is planning some very special activities for the entire month.
Your board is full of energy and a love for ACR-Dallas.  But we need you.  We need you to attend our meetings, to register on the website, and to be advocates for ACR-Dallas among your friends and professional acquaintances.  I am convinced that ACR-Dallas is, and should be viewed as, the premier conflict-resolution association in North Texas. 
Along those lines, I recently had lunch with a conflict resolution professional and we were discussing the myriad organizations that deal with conflict resolution and the difficulty that people new to the field have in determining which ones they should join.  We discussed ACR and I want to tell you why I belong to ACR.  In no particular order:

• It is an international organization.  When I attended ACR's conference in Austin, there were professionals from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa present.  ACR has over 6,000 members.  ACR publishes a valuable quarterly magazine that provides significant conflict resolution related coverage.  If you join a section, you have access to teleconferences led by experts who are at the cutting edge of the profession.

• Its membership is diverse.  Our members are educators, trainers, attorneys, business leaders, engineers, real estate professionals, students, religious leaders, information technology experts, and ombudsmen, to name a few.  I'm always amazed how conflict resolution principles are used by a wide variety of people.

• Our meetings are top-notch.  In reflecting over this last year:
• A federal bankruptcy judge discussed issues in mediating the bankruptcy case;
• One of the top foreclosure attorneys in the state provided insight on how to successfully mediate foreclosure cases;
• Our panel of family law judges talked about updates in the law and the need for family-law mediators;
• Our panel of civil law judges explained court procedures and access points for appointments as mediators;
• Four of the most recognized mediators in North Texas talked about the ways they market their practices, giving us tremendous insights on what worked, and hasn't worked, for them. 

• Our membership rates are a great value.  Our regular member rates are $40.00 per year.  In my opinion, ACR-Dallas offers great value for member dues.  Where else can you obtain the high quality of programming that ACR-Dallas offers at that price?

      Please show your support for ACR-Dallas by joining or renewing your membership via our website, www.dallasacr.org, attending meetings, and "talking up" ACR-Dallas to your colleagues. 
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. (for our meet-and-greet time) with our program beginning at 6:00 p.m.  A distinguished panel will talk to us about collaborative law and the role of the professional neutral.  Our panel will be a collaborative law team—an attorney, a marriage and family counselor, and a financial counselor.  In addition to their impressive backgrounds and track record, this team recently published a book on collaborative law. I'm looking forward to seeing you on January 26. ---Peace, Gene Roberts.

Homestead Foreclosure Mediation Working in Florida

            Although mediators have a 73 per cent settlement rate on homestead foreclosures in Florida, the process has been criticized as “only babysitting” rather than mediating because little or no negotiations take place.
The Supreme Court of Florida administrative order requiring mediation on all homesteaded property foreclosure cases has been declared a boon to troubled homeowners, according to a Palm Beach Post report of January 2, 2010.
Often a homeowner's finances are simply uploaded into a computer, which spits out whether the debtor's debt-to-income ratio qualifies for a loan modification. The computer doesn't negotiate.
. The order estimates there is an inventory of approximately 456,000 pending foreclosure cases statewide.

Judge Discourages Late Mediator Substitution
Dallas County Court at Law No. 1 Judge D’Metria Benson, notified attorneys and mediators of her policy that discourages late requests for substituting mediators. “The appointed mediator is the preferred mediator and shall be used by the parties, absent good cause shown,” the Judge said.
Judge Benson first gives the parties opportunity to choose a mediator. If they don’t within the court’s timelines, she appoints the mediator. “One of the main reasons for this policy is to avoid wasting the time and efforts of the court and the time and efforts of the appointed mediator in scheduling mediation.

Quarreling Neighbors Need Professional Mediator, Judge Says

            “This belongs in mediation. I'd like you to sit down with a professional and get this resolved," a Judge told quarreling neighbors, according to a report in the December 29, Prescott (Arizona) Daily Courier.
A feud between David Waters and his neighbors apparently has been going on since 2006. Judge Catherine Kelley granted the neighbors an injunction against Waters, ordering him to stop videotaping them, waving his arms wildly, swearing, and otherwise harassing them. Waters, while admitting that he videotaped his neighbors, said that he did it on the advice of his lawyer because the neighbors had filed 15 police complaints against him.
During the 2-1/2-hour long hearing, Kelley admonished the parties, "Let's not make my courtroom your neighborhood. I wouldn't want to live in your neighborhood."

           
Senate Bill Would Fund Foreclosure Mediations

            A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would provide matching funds to states and local governments to set up mediation proceedings, in which homeowners and banks can sit down with a mediator to try to find alternatives to foreclosure.
These mediation proceedings have shown promise in cities hard-hit by the rise in foreclosures, according to a news release by Debt Advisors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

New York State Bar Urges More Mediation

            The New York State Bar has included increased use of mediation and protection of confidentiality in its recommendations to lawmakers.
The State Bar recommends The Uniform Mediation Act (UMA) that establishes a standard process for mediation. Under the UMA, mediation would remain voluntary and would assure the confidentiality of mediation, thereby encouraging its use in resolving disputes. “The increased use of mediation would reduce the costs for individuals and businesses in New York, and the demands upon the courts.” 

TAM Convention Feb. 26-27, in Austin

            The Texas Association of Mediators (TAM) annual convention will be at the Omni Hotel Downtown, Austin, Texas, Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27.
Melanie Grimes of Dallas, has led TAM as president this year. Conference co-chairpersons are Toylaine Spencer, tspencer@birchbecker.com; and Tracy Watson, TWatsonADR@aol.com.
Keynote speakers will be Peter Adler, Robert Benjamin, and Chip Rose, it was announced by The Texas Mediator, TAM’s quarterly publication.
Peter S. Adler, Ph.D., is president of The Keystone Center that deals with energy, environmental and health-related problems, and trains educators and business leaders. “Adler’s specialty is multi-party negotiation and problem solving. He has worked extensively on water management and resource planning problems and mediates, writes, trains, and teaches in diverse areas of conflict management. He has extensive experience in land planning issues, water problems, marine and coastal affairs, and strategic resource management,” the publication said.
Robert Benjamin, M.S.W., J.D., has been a practicing mediator since 1979 in most areas including business/civil, family/divorce, employment, and health care. He practiced law for more than 25 years and now teaches and conducts professional negotiation, mediation, and conflict management seminars and training courses . He is an Adjunct Professor at the Straus Institute for Conflict Resolution of the Pepperdine University School of Law, and Southern Methodist University’s Program on Conflict Resolution as well as several other schools and universities, according to the TAM publication.
Chip Rose is director of The Mediation Center in Santa Cruz, California. In 1980, as a certified Specialist in Family Law, he became aware of the mediation model for dispute resolution and incorporated it into his law practice. Then he offered clients an alternative to the traditional damaging effects of litigation. In the 1990s he phased out use of any form of litigation. He now limits his practice to providing client-empowered dispute resolution services through the mediation and collaborative practice process, according to the TAM publication.
For TAM Convention registration information and registration form: www.txmediator.org.

Texas Law Requires Mediator to Report Bad Faith
 Texas House Bill 2256, signed into law on June 19, 2009, requires the mediator to report bad faith mediation to the insurance commissioner or the Texas Medical Board, and provides a procedure for mediation of out-of-network health benefit claim disputes, and gives patients the option to mediate when they are “balance-billed” by their insurance company for services provided by out-of-network facility-based physicians, according to Holly Hayes’ Internet blog.              Even though services are provided at an in-network facility, patients may be responsible for out-of-network charges.  For example, a mother gives birth in the hospital and the next day a neonatologist visits the baby before both are discharged home. If the neonatologist is not part of the hospital preferred provider plan, the mother will be billed for the balance of the amount not covered by insurance.
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ADR Opportunities Expanding

            Employment in arbitration, mediation, and conciliation is expected to expand by 1,400 jobs, or 14 percent, between 2008 and 2018—a growth rate above the average for all occupations, according to the US News and World Report, December 28, 2009.
Median earnings for mediators and arbitrators were $50,660 last year. The lowest-paid 10 percent made $30,000 or less, while the highest-paid 10 percent made above $104,000. These figures do not include the self-employed.
The report said mediation and arbitration tend to be cheaper and quicker methods for reaching a resolution than the courts.

Panel, left to right, seasoned mediators, Mike Amis, Will Pryor, Ken Burdin and Melanie Grimes, discussed building a mediation practice at the October, 2009, ACR Dallas Meeting.

Spanish for Mediators Training Planned

            Irene Zucker, who has been doing Spanish language mediations for 12 years, and teaches a Spanish course to builders, will conduct a 24-hour Spanish training program for mediators beginning in January, 2010.
She will teach “ just what you need to know to start pronouncing correctly, useful basic ADR terminology, Mediation related phrases and simple sentences in Spanish. Develop trust and
rapport with your Spanish speaking clients and minimize miscommunication, the key to more
successful bi-lingual Mediations.”
The Hands-on Course is for busy ADR Professionals, fast paced sessions that actually WORK. Recommended for Mediators, Attorneys, Judges, Arbitrators, or anyone involved with the Alternative Dispute Resolution field with the need to interact with Spanish speaking clients.

Objectives are:
• Learn basics of correct pronunciation in Spanish and practice using common sounds, terminology, and phraseology as used during the Mediation process, right away.
• Demonstrate an ability to correctly use common terms, directives, requests through a unique series of realistic “hands-on” exercises, role-plays and games. Format: 24 hours, 3x 8-hour full-day Saturday sessions.
Where: North Dallas Location; Registration: $339 includes all materials you will need to get you started speaking Spanish AND be understood. (Group rates are available.)
For more information, 972-386-8372 or visit verbacom.com/sp/testimonials.