By now, you might have heard the news that the MBA ADR
Committee, established some 20 years ago as a closed Standing
Committee, has been transformed to the full Dispute Resolution DR
Section, to mirror the incredible evolution of our field of
practice across all areas of the law. The MBA's newest section is
geared up and celebrating its move to full section status for the
2016-17 association year.
Dispute Resolution has come a long way! Recollection of 1980s
perspectives that dispute resolution had modest viability as a
practice area is but a distant gleam in the eyes of the thousands
of practitioners, attorneys, insurers, business people, and
consumer laymen who employ DR in everything from routine disputes
to complex cases of all varieties.
Newsworthy as well, is the name shift to 'DR' from
alternative dispute resolution or ADR. With less than 2
percent of cases now ever reaching trial, Dispute Resolution has
truly become the primary and appropriate means of legal case
management and disposition. While it may take time to get used to
this shortened reference, most of us are already veterans of its
actual use, since our field has grown far beyond strictly mediation
and arbitration to a much wider Dispute Resolution Umbrella (see
insert).
We've put together a truly impressive Section Council of
dedicated DR experts who have already begun their work to bring you
practical and useful information, educational opportunities, and
networking events, including the DR Inaugural Reception on 9/20
from 5:30-7:30pm at the MBA (all are welcome, please RSVP), and the
1st Annual Dispute Resolution Symposium which will be held in May,
2017. We have also assembled an extraordinary Advisory Group,
consisting of other preeminent DR leaders across many industry
aspects, all willing to share their ideas, experience, and
advisement to members of our Council and Section.
Please join us as we move forward as the only cohesive,
state-wide platform for practitioners and users alike, established
to share the knowledge necessary to bring each of us and our
clients the most successful DR advantages available. Join the
Dispute Resolution Section via My Bar Access at www.massbar.org.
Contacts: Brian R. Jerome, Esq., chair; Sarah E. Worley,
vice chair