NCJ Number
104529
Date Published
1984
Length
152 pages
Annotation
Representing the culmination of a two-phase study of barriers to the use of alternative (nonlitigation and nonjudicial) dispute resolution (ADR), these papers examine ways to limit or remove barriers and current issues and developments in the field.
Abstract
Papers presented during the first session discuss ethical issues that pose barriers to mediation by an attorney dealing with a divorcing couple; limitations stemming from power imbalances and the sources of such imbalances in mediation also are considered. Additional discussions focus on ADR-related legislation, including those laws that are general in scope, those dealing with such issues as confidentiality and liability, those considering funding, and those concerned with child custody mediation. Finally, barriers to the inclusion of ADR in law school curricula are examined. Papers presented during the second session provide a summary of recent legislative developments, as well as descriptions of ADR programs in China; Houston; Washington, DC; and Tulsa, Okla. Forms of facilitation in mediation involving parties of unequal power also are considered, as is the mediator role in dynamic power settings. A panel discussion, during the final session, focuses on such barriers to ADR as lack of definitional clarity, the role of the courts, and perceptions of ADR as a form of second-class justice.