Review of Eye of the Storm Leadership by Peter Adler (4/21/08)
John Sautelle
If you want a thought-provoking, engaging and at times inspirational read then this is the book for you! As it turns out, this book is not about leadership generally – it focuses specifically on leadership in the context of conflict.

Eye of the Storm Leadership - Chapter One (4/01/08)
Peter Adler
Peter Adler is pleased to here provide Chapter One of his new book "Eye of the Storm Leadership." This chapter is entitled: Guerilla Bridge Building and includes free access to the accompanying video.

Ten Questions on Leadership for Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama (3/24/08)
Peter Adler
The U.S. presidential run-up is a time to think about politics, conflict and leadership. The collective challenges we face -- balancing freedom and security, maintaining economic and environmental sustainability, educating our young people, and assuring the health of those who cannot take care of themselves -- crisscross all sorts of historic borders, jurisdictions, and purviews. Making headway on these challenges will necessarily be a team sport.

How will Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama approach them? Imagine for a moment that we could engage all three candidates in an extended dialogue that goes beyond the sound bites and platform promises we have grown too accustomed to. Here is what I would ask:

Barack Obama’s Speech on Race (3/19/08)
Barack Obama
We find Barack Obama's speech on race to be a top flight example of the kind of mature consideration our most divisive issues deserve and need. We here present the text of Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race in Philadelphia.

IRS and State Agency Successfully Mediate Tax-Exempt Status of Bonds (3/18/08)
Keith Seat

Using an Internal Revenue Service mediation program, the Rockdale County, Georgia Development Authority reached a settlement with the IRS in order to maintain the tax-exempt status of $77 million of solid-waste disposal revenue bonds. Under the rarely-used IRS tax-exempt bond mediation program, an IRS employee with no previous involvement in the case acts as mediator, and a private co-mediator may be included at the option of the parties, as was done in this matter. The IRS mediation program was begun in 2003 and renewed last year.

The Bond Buyer and SourceMedia, Inc., (Georgia) (February 15, 2008) (Subscription Required)

Federal Circuit Mediation Program Impresses (3/18/08)
Keith Seat

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was the last federal appellate court to begin a mediation program, but in just two years is showing results in line with other circuit programs, despite the complexity of its specialized docket, which includes patent appeals. Last year the Federal Circuit’s mediation program resolved 42% of the cases mediated.

The National Law Journal (February 11, 2008) (Subscription Required)

Introduction to Eye of the Storm Leadership (3/17/08)
Peter Adler
In the vast galaxy of leadership practices, the 150 ideas that follow focus on making deals, brokering agreements, and managing the inevitable conflicts that occur in politically charged circumstances. They are about communication, negotiation, problem solving, and “guerilla peace making.” The premise is simple and was best stated by philosopher, psychologist, and educator John Dewey: “Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity and sets us at noting and contriving."

Primer decenio de la conciliacion extrajudicial en el Peru, problemas y propuestas de cambio (2/26/08)
Rafael Gonzalo Medina Rospigliosi
La conciliación extrajudicial es un medio de solución de conflictos, por el cual un tercero neutral e imparcial denominado Conciliador Extrajudicial asiste a las partes a encontrar su propia solución a sus conflictos que es mas humana, saludable, justa, durable, mutuamente satisfactoria y con el mismo valor de sentencia inapelable, es una poderosa herramienta de tercera generación para solucionar conflictos.

Obama’s Message - Mediation’s Political Triumph (2/25/08)
James Melamed
Presidential candidate Barack Obama's main political message represents the absorption of the mediation movement's essential themes at the highest level of national and global politics. This is an accomplishment that should not go unnoticed and one that all mediators, whatever our political leanings, should take great pride in. Obama's candidacy is mediative consciousness' coming out party. Could it be that our work is finally paying off, not only in terms of "miracles in the mediation room," but also in terms of truly improving the way we as humans operate on planet earth? I think so. We are experiencing a popular paradigm shift right before our eyes and mediators and mediative thought are largely responsible.

Wonks, Shamans, Warriors, Dealmakers & The Protean Leader (2/20/08)
Robert Benjamin
History may record the current presidential campaign as a turning point in how we think about leadership, choose a leader, and approach complex issues and difficult conflicts in the Twenty-First Century. The candidates present an interesting juxtaposition of leadership styles that is seldom so apparent. John McCain is the classic warrior, Hillary Clinton is the pragmatic, technical, problem-solving wonk, and Barack Obama has cornered the role of the moral/inspirational shaman.

La Mediación en España (1/16/08)
Franco Conforti
No han sido pocos los e-mail recibidos de colegas interesándose por la situación de La Mediación y la salida laboral que tiene el Mediador en España y más concretamente en la Comunidad Valenciana. He recapitulado la información disponible al respecto y he decidido escribir este artículo a título informativo.

Florida Permits Non-Lawyers to Be Circuit Court Mediators (11/28/07)
Keith Seat

The Florida Supreme Court has eliminated the requirement that Circuit Court mediators must be members of the Florida Bar or retired trial judges, noting that most states do not require legal training. Instead, the court adopted formal rules to rely entirely on a point system that is intended to more closely correlate with the background and experience necessary to be a good mediator. This decision opens the way for non-lawyers, as well as lawyers who are not members of the Florida Bar, to become mediators in the highest trial courts in Florida. However, if any party in a Circuit Court mediation objects, the court is still required appoint a mediator who is a member of the Florida Bar.

In re: Petition of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy Comm. on Amendments to Fla. Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators, No. SC05-998 (Fla., Nov. 15, 2007)

Putting "Public" Back in Public Health Work (11/12/07)
Don Greenstein, Doug Thompson
Experts say chances of a deadly worldwide outbreak of pandemic flu are increasing. In order to involve the public in developing plans for how the government would react to such an outbreak, the CDC held four public meetings to hear public views about possible community control measures that could limit the outbreak. This report outlines and evaluates this award-winning project, which sought to put the "public" in public health by effectively allowing people to participate in policy development.

Giving Politics a Makeover (1/11/07)
Peter Adler
Politics is a hard business. It has been variously described as war without bloodshed (Mao Tse Tung), the conduct of public affairs for private advantage (Ambrose Bierce), and the art of looking for trouble and applying the wrong remedy to it (Earnest Benn). The word itself comes from the Greek “polis” meaning the collective. Politics is all about all of us “together” and the making of choices about the distribution of power, rights, assets, liabilities, and obligations. If you are a mediator or facilitator, this shouldn’t be foreign territory. It is something we help people do all the time.

Mediation Project Spreads Skills to Stressed-Out Gulf Coast (1/10/07)
Anne Marie Ruff, Daily Journal Staff Writer Los Angeles mediator Laurel Kaufer developed a project in Biloxi, Miss., to teach conflict resolution and communication skills as a means to defuse stress left by Hurricane Katrina.

Interagency ADR Working Group (IADRWG) Steering Committee Seeks Comments On Draft Guides (11/21/05)
Interagency ADR Working Group
The federal Interagency ADR Working Group (IADRWG) Steering Committee is developing guidance for federal agency mediators, ombuds, and workplace mediation programs. The following is information about three proposed documents posted on the IADRWG website including links to the three documents.

EEOC's 10 Reasons to Mediate (8/10/05)
EEOC National Mediation Program
The new video 10 Reasons to Mediate introduces businesses to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) National Mediation Program.

Government ADR Editorial (2/28/05)
Deborah Laufer
The challenges within government offices to provide ADR with the highest level of neutrality, confidentiality, credibility, usership, effective results, and voluntariness echo the same efforts seen in the private sector. Thus, government never works in a vacuum as it is constantly improved and complemented by the creativity and resources of the private sector – and the favor is returned as well. May the partnership between private and public ADR sectors forever be strong!

USDA Agricultural Mediation Program (9/06/04)
Chester A. Bailey
USDA's Certified State Agricultural Mediation Program, administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the United States Department of Agriculture, has helped agricultural producers and their creditors resolve disputes confidentially in a non-adversarial setting, thus avoiding the traditional process of litigation, appeals, bankruptcy, and foreclosure. This is crucial as America's family farmers continue to deal with a fluctuating economy, low commodity prices, and a seemingly endless rash of natural disasters. This article tells the history and performance of the mediation program.

The Office Of Federal Procurement Policy To Issue Alternative Dispute Resolution Awards (11/18/03)

November 2003

The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, OFPP will present the second annual Federal Acquisition ADR Awards on December 3, 2003 at a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The awards program recognizes innovative conflict resolution practices such as mediation and arbitration, that provide an effective and expedited process for resolving contract disputes. Experience has shown that these practices allow agencies and contractors to resolve conflicts more quickly and less expensively, and to help them maintain long-term, solution-oriented relationships.

The awards program was established by OFPP in consultation with the Interagency ADR Working Group chaired by the Attorney General. The ceremony is being co-sponsored by the Federal Acquisition Council. The keynote speakers will be David G. Leitch, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel, and Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Associate Attorney General.

Judges for the awards were: Department of Justice Senior Counsel Jeffrey M. Senger; CPR Institute for ADR President Thomas. J. Stipanowich; and United States Court of Claims Judge Mary Ellen Williams. The awards will be presented by Robert A. Burton, Associate Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.

Iraq and Afghanistan: Opportunities for ADR (5/12/03)
Tom Oswald
The collapse of one sort of governmental infrastructure needs to be replaced with another, and the sooner, the better. Now is the time to introduce collaborative conflict resolution and arbitral conflict adjudication into the post-armed conflict re-construction cultures of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Putting FEAR into Federal EEO Programs (7/08/02)
Andrew Colsky
Be afraid . . . be very afraid . . .there is a new law referred to as the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Rehabilitation Act of 2002 (NO FEAR) Public law 107-174 that will have significant impact on federal agencies and their Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs.

How to be an Effective Advocate for Your Agency During Mediation (6/24/02)
John Ford, James MacPherson
This article provides an overview of the mediation process, in particular EEO mediations. We also share a checklist of items to think about that will prepare you for your mediation session – along with some tips that will improve your effectiveness as an advocate for your agency during the actual mediation process.

Notification And Federal Employee Antidiscrimination And Retaliation Act Of 2002 (6/10/02)
U.S. Congress To require that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws; to require that each Federal agency post quarterly on its public Web site, certain statistical data relating to Federal sector equal employment opportunity complaints filed with such agency; and for other purposes.

EEOC Rules On Application Of ADA Standards To Federal Workforce (5/27/02)

May 2002

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced May 21 the publication of a final rule to clarify the application of the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to federal government workers.

When Title I of the ADA (employment provisions) was enacted, some of the legal requirements of the ADA differed from the Rehabilitation Act, even though the two laws shared the same purpose: ending employment discrimination based on disability. Congress subsequently amended the Rehabilitation Act, applying the ADA standards to federal employment.

This final rule implements the amendments to section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act and updates the EEOC's Rehabilitation Act regulation in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.203. EEOC published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the amendments to its old section 501 regulation in the Federal Register on March 1, 2000. EEOC received 15 comments from federal agencies, federal unions, advocacy groups representing persons with disabilities, and individuals.

Final rule highlights include:

• The final rule incorporates by reference the EEOC's ADA regulation, at 29 C.F.R. Part 1630.

• The regulatory limits on reassignment of federal employees with disabilities as a reasonable accommodation, formerly included in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.203(g), have been deleted, and the ADA standard will now be applied.

• The final rule amends the federal sector disability regulation, 29 C.F.R. § 1614.203, and sets forth the obligation of the federal government to be the "model employer of individuals with disabilities.

"

The application of the ADA's nondiscrimination standards has no impact on federal affirmative action obligations or programs.

EEOC published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the amendments to its old section 501 regulation in the Federal Register March 1, 2000. The Commission subsequently received 15 comments. They included comments from federal agencies, federal unions, advocacy groups representing persons with disabilities, one from a group representing employment attorneys and one from a state agency. After careful consideration of the comments, EEOC approved the revised final rule in accordance with the federal rulemaking process.

"These changes to the Commission's regulations will promote consistent enforcement of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990," said EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez. "They will also promote the goal of increasing the employment of individuals with disabilities in the federal government and ensure that the federal government continues to serve as a model employer of individuals with disabilities."