A hot topic in the justice system, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), will be the focus of a University law symposium that will be open to the public today through Saturday.
“ADR is an alternative to litigation,” said Lisa Kloppenberg, program coordinator of the University ADR program. “The emphasis is mediation from a third-party, neutral person.”
Kloppenberg said this type of mediation gives people the chance to talk to each other in hopes of settling issues outside the courtroom.
University graduate Gary Galton and his wife Anne Marie donated more than $211,000 to the law school to create the ADR program in June. The program educates students about various ways in which disputes can be resolved, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration.
Part of the contribution will help fund the symposium, which will include five panels of experienced judges and lawyers.
“The panelists for the symposium are fabulous,” said Anne Aiken, an ADR program board member.
Ninth Circuit Appellate Court Judge Dorothy Nelson will deliver the keynote address from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. today.
“Dorothy is really the mother of this program,” Aiken said.
When Nelson began to teach ADR at USC in the early 1960s, she was the only law faculty member who taught an alternative dispute resolution program.
“When people would ask what I taught they would say, ‘Oh, it’s that women thing,’” Nelson said. “But now it’s one of the hottest topics in the justice system.”
Nelson will speak about the qualities of ADR and make suggestions to the law school about how to provide incentives to incorporate ADR in a variety of areas.
“The importance of ADR is that it helps to limit costly, ineffective and destructive results that can come out of cases going to court,” Nelson said.
She said ADR is gaining more recognition in Oregon.
“Oregon is leading the way in ADR in several ways, including integrating ADR into a number of the courses,” said Judy Sprauger, University law professor.
Symposium participants will examine a number of cases to see if ADR methods could have resolved them. These cases include a lawsuit regarding pollution on the East Coast, on which the movie “A Civil Action” was based, as well as cases involving the salmon dispute and tobacco lawsuits.
“Anyone interested in mediation, public lawyers, negotiators, or business people will benefit from this event,” Sprauger said.
The Oregon State Bar is also awarding Continuing Legal Education credit for attorneys who attend the symposium. The fee for credit is $50.