SUMMARY
The prevalence of diversity programs and initiatives has grown rapidly in recent years. Both corporations and law firms have made diversity an integral component of their business plans. As a result, ADR leaders and organizations have also begun addressing diversity issues in the field, especially those surrounding the lack of qualified women and minorities to serve as mediators and arbitrators and the failure by parties to actively query and retain diverse neutrals. Diversity in ADR is not just limited to race and sex; but includes number of other categories as well, including disability, age, and national origin. People of different backgrounds bring new experiences and viewpoints to the table, and that is exactly what the future of ADR calls for.
ARTICLES
It Remains a White, Male Game by F. Peter Phillips
The National Law Journal Monday, November 27, 2006
Mediation and arbitration lag behind the rest of the profession in diversifying their ranks.
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Diversity in ADR: More Difficult to Accomplish than First Thought by F. Peter Phillips
Dispute Resolution Magazine Spring 2009
Corporate purchasers of legal services have increasingly demanded greater diversity in the lawyers who are assigned to their work. As incidents spread of law firms being “fired” for failure to take these expectations seriously, law firms are responding, and legal ranks are becoming more diverse.
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ALTERNATIVES ARTICLES
Inaugural diversity award winner is announced; law firm award, honorable mention go to two U.K. firms. Alternatives, Feb 2009, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p18-25
The inaugural CPR Award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity in ADR has been presented to veteran neutral and educator Marvin E. Johnson, of Maryland & law firm award went to Herbert Smith, an international law firm
based in London. Eversheds, another London-based firm, received an honorable mention for the law firm award.
Who else will step up? A mentor plan seeks to spread ADR diversity. Alternatives, Jan 2008, Vol. 26 Issue 1,
p9-11.
Robert A Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh attorney-neutral, fresh off the completion of a one-year mentor fellowship he designed and funded, is readying a diversity plan he hopes will be replicated by conflict resolution practitioners coast to coast.
To ‘start the ball rolling,’ Dupont pledges support for diversity task force. Alternatives, Mar 2007, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p50-60
At a meeting of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution’s new diversity task force in January,
Thomas L. Sager, vice president and assistant general counsel overseeing litigation at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., announced a $10,000 pledge for the task force work.
Sophisticated Awareness Is Necessary For Effective Disabilities Act Mediation by Judith Cohen
Alternatives, Vol. 15 (April 1997)
As people with disabilities move deeper into the mainstream, become employed in increasing numbers, and develop a more sophisticated awareness of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ADA employment disputes can be expected to increase.
Fulfilling Your Obligations on Mediation Capacity by Judith Cohen
This article is a part of a collection on "Capacity to Mediate."
Alternatives, Vol. ___ ( )
Mediators need to be concerned when parties face obstacles to self-determination, a core value in mediation. When a party appears to have difficulty comprehending the mediation process, or seems unable to participate actively, the mediator needs to step back and explore those obstacles with the party.
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TOOLS
CPR Diversity Survey
In 2007, the Diversity Task Force published and disseminated an ADR Diversity Survey to assist corporeate law departments to hold their outside lawyers accountable for the use of minorities and women in ADR.
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ADA Mediation Guidelines
The accepted standard for mediations where people with disabilities are involved.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Mediating Employment Disputes Under the Disabilities Act by Samuel H. DeShazer & Judy Cohen
Dispute Resolution Journal, February 1998
The intent of Title I, the employment section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to open up employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities in order to bring them into the economic mainstream.
Striving for Diversity in ADR & Why it Matters: An Interview with the
Hon. Timothy K. Lewis
Dispute Resolution Journal
Feb-Apr 2008
Raised during the Civil Rights era & post-Civil Rights era, former U.S. Circuit Court judge and a former United States District Court judge discusses his interest in Diversity.
The National Task Force On Diversity In ADR - A Pioneering Work In Progress
The Metropolitian Corporate Counsel March 2007
The Editor interviews Charles R. Morgan , Executive Vice President and General Counsel, OnSite 3 and Co-Chair, National Task Force on Diversity in ADR regarding his first acknowledgement of the need for diversity in his own law department in 1998.
The Diversity Competence Assessment of The Association for Conflict Resolution
A Report Prepared By Lauren N. Nile, Consultant December 28, 2006
The purpose of this report is to assess The Association for Conflict Resolution’s level of diversity competence, identifying the organization’s specific stage of multicultural development.
ACCESS ADR: A New Diversity Initiative Launched With The Support Of The JAMS Foundation And The ABA
The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel May 2004
The Editor interviews Homer C. La Rue and Marvin E. Johnson who describe ACCESS ADR as encouraging users to take a broader look at the people who make up the provider group.
The Next Level: Promoting Diversity In The ADR Arena
February 2007 The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
The Editor interviews Joshua W. Martin, III, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, and Thomas L. Sager, Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel, DuPont, who have both been leaders in the discussion of diversity in the legal profession.
Uncovering Race in Dispute Resolution
Dispute Resolution Magazine Spring 2009 (Volume 15, Number 3)
Numerous articles on Diversity including: Theories Versus Knowledge, Race Narratives, Diversity in ADR, Lack of Diversity in the Top Ranks, Racially Matching Participants and Mediators, Racial Discrimination in the Workplace.