CPR ALIGNS DIVERSITY COMMITMENT WITH RAY COROLLARY INITIATIVE PLEDGE

New York, NY, July 28, 2022 - The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), a global non-profit organization that promotes dispute prevention and resolution, announced that it is expanding and strengthening the diversity pledge it adopted in 2020 by incorporating the core metric found in the pledge of the Ray Corollary Initiative (RCI). The RCI seeks to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the selection of arbitrators, mediators, and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) neutrals – a goal shared by CPR.

CPR’s refined Diversity Commitment will now ask that each signatory to the pledge from the corporate and law firm communities aim to ensure at least 30% of each list from which neutrals (arbitrators or mediators) will be selected is comprised of diverse neutrals. As a provider of dispute resolution services, CPR had previously adopted this metric for its own selection processes. The 30% metric stems from the RCI’s finding that reaching this threshold meaningfully increases the likelihood that a diverse neutral will be selected. Pointing to social science research, the RCI noted that the odds that a diverse candidate would be selected from a list of mixed diverse and non-diverse candidates jumped disproportionately when the 30% metric was met.

In addition to abiding by the 30% diversity metric when considering or proposing lists from which the mediators or arbitrators in a given matter are selected, signatories from the corporate, law firm and CPR communities agree to track the percentage of diverse neutrals proposed and/or appointed in matters in which they are parties, counsel or the administering dispute resolution entity.

Allen Waxman, President and CEO of CPR explained, “We believe that, by adopting the RCI metric as part of our updated CPR Diversity Commitment, we are advocating for a significant and achievable step toward improving selection rates. This will amplify our efforts to deploy all of the talent available to resolve disputes. We look forward to partnering with signatories to the Commitment toward this objective.”

Homer C. LaRue, Arbitrator, Mediator, Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law and Board Chair of RCI Inc., the organization sponsoring the RCI pledge, said, “I am confident that, by further aligning its Diversity Commitment with the RCI pledge, CPR will propel the dispute resolution field forward toward a more diverse and inclusive future. The RCI’s requirement that all proposed mediator or arbitration selection lists include at least 30% diverse neutrals is a demonstrably successful tool in increasing the diversity of neutral selection.”

Hon. Timothy K. Lewis, of Counsel at Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and co-chair of CPR’s National Task Force on Diversity added, “I applaud CPR’s continued efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the selection of mediators and arbitrators. The field of alternative dispute resolution remains too homogenous and too difficult for people of color to penetrate. CPR’s adoption of the RCI as part of the commitment it seeks from companies and law firms constitutes an important step forward in increasing the likelihood that diverse neutrals will be selected.”

Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, of Counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, former judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and co-chair of CPR’s National Task Force on Diversity noted, “Disputants come from all walks of life and represent every racial, ethnic and gender groups in America. Our panels of neutrals should also. But mediators and arbitrators remain overwhelmingly white and male. This needs to change, and I encourage parties and law firms to sign on to CPR’s Diversity Commitment and to work toward meeting the RCI metric in order to achieve more diverse selection of neutrals.”

For more information on CPR visit cpradr.org.

About CPR

Established in 1977, CPR is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the prevention and resolution of conflict to better enable purpose through the CPR Institute and its subsidiary, CPR Dispute Resolution Services, LLC.

The CPR Institute drives and advocates for a global prevention and dispute resolution culture through the thought leadership of its diverse members – companies, leading mediators and arbitrators, law firms, individual practitioners, and academics – who share best practices and develop innovative tools for dispute management through Committees and events.

CPR Dispute Resolution is a boutique provider of leading-edge dispute management services – mediation, arbitration, custom appointing services, a panel of dispute prevention specialists, and more – that leverages resources generated by the CPR Institute. The case administrators have legal degrees, a combined 50 years of experience in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and speak five languages. The Panel of Distinguished Neutrals is a carefully curated, diverse group of prominent, experienced subject matter experts based in 35 countries. To learn more, visit cpradr.org.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Lili Schroppe
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lschroppe@cpradr.org
646-753-8204

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