Archive: 2012

Federal agencies have yet again been directed to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques to resolve disputes. This time the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality have directed relevant departments and agencies to "increase the appropriate and effective use of third-party assisted environmental collaboration as well as environmental conflict resolution to resolve problems and conflicts that arise in the context of environmental, public lands, or natural resources issues, including matters related to energy, transportation, and water and land management. 

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This has not a good year for coal in the United States. Fifty-five coal-burning power plants haveshut down this year alone including the Big Sandy power plant in Louisa, Kentucky.

The significance of the Big Sandy plant is that it is located right in the heart of coal country; near the Appalachian Mountains, an area that has relied on coal, not only for energy, but as an economic driver for decades.

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Nick Schroeck is executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and teaches at the Wayne State University Law School Environmental Law Clinic. A 2007 graduate of Wayne State University law school, Nick is receiving recognition for his many accomplishments in environmental law. Good for Nick and good for Wayne State Law School, my alma mater.

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The NHL players and owners finally appear to be making progress towards a collective bargaining agreement. Although no formal agreement, public reports indicate that the two sides are having meaningful and productive discussions around many of the critical issues. You might be surprised, though, that this was not thanks to Gary Bettman or Donald Fehr, the lead negotiators for management and the union respectively.

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As the NHL lockout reaches its 10^th week, it is hard from the outside to see any progress. Both the All-Star game and the Winter Classic have been cancelled and the two sides seem just as far apart as they were three months ago.
But one recent development which should delight hockey fans and ADR professionals alike is that the owners and players have finally agreed to mediation. Both sides have agreed that ongoing negotiations will be conducted under the auspices of mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

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The Maryland legislature recently passed the Maryland Mediation Confidentiality Act  that took effect on October 1, 2012. It created a new subtitle 18 of Article 3, Courts and Judicial Proceedings of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

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The internet is a great tool for all legal professionals, including mediators. Between the information available online and the ease in sharing information, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without the internet.

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On Nov. 1, 2012 the Court of Appeals of Maryland adopted a rules order including changes to Title 17, governing the provision of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services in all court ordered cases in Maryland.

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I recently wrote about Delaware statute that allows Chancery Court judges to sit as private arbitrators having been found to be unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Mary McLaughlin of the District of Delaware.

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The 2012 presidential election has been the most expensive to date. The whopping $2 billion that has been spent by both campaigns can be partially attributed to the Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission decision by the Supreme Court.

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