The following summary is arranged under the items on the circulated agenda. The agenda appears in bold and the summary in regular type.

1. Welcome Introductions

The Co-Chairs welcomed members to the spring meeting. Members were given an opportunity to introduce themselves while an attendance roster sheet was circulated.

2. Subcommittees Reports

During the meeting the new subcommittee reports, which we hope will be a very useful resource for members, were introduced. Each report covers new development, trends, and issues and resources in a particular area of ADR.

A. Arbitration

i. The subcommittee report was prepared and submitted by Jim Keller, chair of the Arbitration Subcommittee. An electronic version of the report is available here (PDF - 21 pages).

B. Mediation

i. The subcommittee report was prepared and submitted by Dave Gibbons, chair of the Mediation Subcommittee. An electronic version of the report is available here (PDF - 4 pages). Nina Balsam also gave an account of activities in the restorative justice project.

C. Collaborative Law

i. The subcommittee report was prepared and submitted by Stephen Stark, chair of the Collative Law Subcommittee. An electronic version of the report is available here (PDF - 2 pages). Stephen also announced the formation of a new collaborative law group in Mid-Missouri. The website for that group is http://mmccla.org/.

D. Legislation

i. Sarah Read reviewed some of the legislation that had been introduced during the last session incorporating ADR provisions. On one bill members of the committee ended up testifying both for and against the bill, with both sides agreeing changes needed to be made. Sarah urged members of the committee who were going to propose legislation to circulate such legislation to members for comment before offering it and gave a reminder that the committee name should not be used in conjunction with any legislation that has not gone through the formal process within the Bar for obtaining approval for legislation. Sarah also pointed out that in past years the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors had formally objected to bills that contained mandatory pre-suit mediation clauses. Finally she asked members to think about how the committee might more proactively or effectively approach legislative issues and invited committee members to e-mail any suggestions to her at sjr@readadr.com

3. CLE on New ABA Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators

Paul Ladehoff, Director of Campus Mediation Services at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law and James Reeves of Conflict Management Systems gave an overview of the 2005 standards for mediator conduct. The new standards were compared to the 1994 standards, and Paul and Jim facilitated a discussion regarding the changes. An electronic version of the materials used during the presentation is available at http://www.abanet.org/dispute/news/comparison1994vaugust2005.pdf. The presentation was approved for 1.0 CLE ethics credit.

4. New Business

The committee thanked Rob Litz for his service as Co-Chair over the past 3 years. Rob’s many contributions as chair will be missed! On September 29, 2006, during the MO Bar Annual Meeting in St. Louis, the ADR Committee will co-sponsor a CLE program presented by Rob Litz and Bob Selsor entitled: “Turning to Mediation and Arbitration in Estate and Trust Disputes.” The Committee also briefly discussed exploring the presentation of a series of telephone CLE programs during the 2006-2007 Bar year, which will be discussed further during the fall meeting. The date for the Fall ADR Committee Meeting in Jefferson City is November 17, 2006.

At the request of one of the Committee Members, here is a list of current subcommittee members (PDF - 4 pages). You are urged to sign up for a subcommittee! Simply e-mail the subcommittee chair and send a copy to sjr@readadr.com.