Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog

Article | Should States Regulate the Mediation Profession?

By Beth Graham - February 3, 2011

Philip J. Loree Jr., a partner in the Manhasset, New York based firm of Loree & Loree and contributor to this blog, recently published an interesting article entitled Should States Regulate the Mediation Profession? The article was published in the Winter 2010-2011 edition of NE-ACR News, the newsletter of the New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution. In the article, Mr. Loree argues “proponents of state licensure

Managing Conflict in Hospitals

By Holly Hayes - January 27, 2011

by Holly Hayes The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety published a two-part article in the February 2011 edition entitled “A Strategic Approach for Managing Conflict in Hospitals: Responding to the Joint Commission Leadership Standard.” The articles by Charity Scott and Debra Gerardi were published as Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 begins by reviewing Conflict Management Standard LD.01.03.01 which states, “The governing

Communication Training in the OR Setting

By Holly Hayes - January 20, 2011

by Holly Hayes The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) published an article in their December journal titled, “Enhancing Communication in Surgery Through Team Training Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review.” The article quotes The Joint Commission’s (TJC) October 2007 Sentinel Events Statistics which stated communication failure was the root cause of approximately 70% of healthcare sentinel events. The

California Supreme Court Holds Attorney-Client Communications Related to Mediation Not Discoverable

By Beth Graham - January 14, 2011

The California Supreme Court has ruled that private attorney-client communications related to a mediation remain confidential communications protected by California’s Evidence Code even during a legal malpractice lawsuit between the parties. In Cassel v. Superior Ct., No. S178914, (Cal. Jan. 13, 2011) Michael Cassel sued attorneys who represented him during a mediation settlement for malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and breach of cont

Article | The NLRA’s Legacy: Collective or Individual Dispute Resolution or Not?

By Beth Graham - January 11, 2011

Carrie Menkel-Meadow, A.B. Chettle, Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure at Georgetown University Law Center and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California Irvine School of Law, recently published The NLRA’s Legacy: Collective or Individual Dispute Resolution or Not?, ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, October 19 2010; UC Irvine School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-28. In her arti

Medical Staff Standard Guidebook Issued

By Holly Hayes - January 7, 2011

by Holly Hayes The American Health Lawyers Association has issued an electronic guidebook for the implementation of a new Joint Commission (TJC) Medical Staff Standard, MS.01.01.01. The timeline for implementation of the new standard is March 31, 2011. Changes to a variety of hospital rules and bylaws will be necessary in order to comply with this new standard. Here is a description of the guidebook: Authored by one of the pre-eminent experts on

Law Review Article | I Could Have Been a Contender…

By Beth Graham - January 4, 2011

Nancy Welsh, Professor of Law at the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law recently authored “I Could Have Been a Contender: Summary Jury Trial As A Means to Overcome Iqbal’s Negative Effects Upon Pre-Litigation Communication, Negotiation and Early, Consensual Dispute Resolution,” 114 Penn St. L. Rev. Vol. 114:4, No. 1149, 2010. In her article, Professor Welsh argues that recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions may be underminin

Article | Representation in Mediation: What We Know From Empirical Research

By Beth Graham - December 28, 2010

Dr. Roselle Wissler, Research Director, Lodestar Dispute Resolution Program and Faculty Fellow, Center for Law, Science & Innovation at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, recently published an article entitled Representation in Mediation: What We Know From Empirical Research, 37 Fordham Urb. L. J. 419 (2010). In her article, Dr. Wissler examines the effect of legal representation on the various stages of the mediat

Supreme Court of Texas Holds Non-Binding Mediation Renders a Debtor a “Settling Person”

By Beth Graham - December 22, 2010

The Supreme Court of Texas has held that participation in a non-binding mediation rendered a debtor a “settling person” under Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code for purposes of determining proportionate liability. In MCI Sales & Serv. v. Hinton, No. 09-0048, (Tex. December 17, 2010), the owner and operator of a motorcoach rental service, Central Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after an accident in which

UT Dallas Wins National Mediation Honors for 2nd Straight Year

By Beth Graham - December 20, 2010

A team of University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) students placed first in the advocate/client division and won the Dan Stamatelos National Trophy for Advocacy at the National Mediation Tournament held November 4-6 at the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. 32 teams from 19 schools located across the nation participated in the tournament. An additional UT Dallas team placed second in the advocate/client division, making UT Dallas t